Bonded
by lymaria
Summary: Robin and Beast Boy just can't seem to get along. While fighting an unknown villain, a spell is cast upon them, making them inseparable. Now, the two must learn how to cope with each other if they ever want to break the curse. And who knows, maybe there was a reason for their constant arguing after all.
1. Chapter 1

Once upon a time, there lived five teens who were the best of friends. Not only did they all get along, but there was something unusually special about them. You see, each one of them possessed a power which ranked them above a normal civilian. Because of this, they used their powers to protect their city from were always successful in what they did, and nothing could come between them.

Unfortunately, this is not that story.

Robin pursed his lips in concentration. His fingers tapped rapidly over the keyboard as his eyes scanned every inch of the screen. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, while his stomach growled in frustration. No matter how much his stomach begged to be fed, he couldn't stop his work, not when he was so close to finding him.

"I know you're out there, Slade." Robin growled between gritted teeth. Again, his stomach let out a ferocious roar as another wave of hunger hit him. He mentally cursed himself for only eating a small breakfast yesterday.

Through all his typing and concentration, Robin had failed to hear the doors of the common room slide open. This was rare for Robin, since he always kept his guard up. Through the doors walked in a young lad who went by the name of Beast Boy. His bright skin matched his even more vibrant personality. Always one for a good joke, he did not waste the opportunity when he noticed his leader completely mesmerized on the data board.

This young man possessed a very peculiar set of powers; one which allowed him to transform into any animal on the face of this earth. And with such a power like that, well, how could anyone not take advantage of it?

With a sly grin on his face, the youngster turned into a tiny mouse, silently scurrying over to where his leader was typing away. Once he reached the foot of his chair, the mouse stood up on his hind legs and rubbed his green paws together maliciously. He positioned himself behind the chair, and within a blink of an eye, the tiny mouse transformed into a ferocious lion, which let out a mighty roar.

Now, any other person would have screamed in terror at the sound of a large beast behind them. Unfortunately, Robin was not a normal person. He was trained by the infamous Batman of course, so he was well adapted to the idea of expect the unexpected. So, before the lion could even comprehend what was happening, a fist was thrown at lightning speed, hitting the beast square in the nose.

The beast let out a surprised yelp, stumbling backwards. It had failed to notice the carpet poking out beneath the table and promptly tripped over it, crashing onto the floor. In a matter of a second, a green boy took its place, sniffling and clutching his nose in pain.

"What gives, dude?" Beast Boy cried, which came out more nasally than expected. Robin's surprised expression quickly turned into anger as he stood up in his chair.

"I should be asking you that, dude." Robin demanded, sarcastically mocking the teens choice of words. "You know I'm busy!"

"Ever heard of a joke? Besides, you needed a break anyways." The boy on the ground examined the other one and rolled his eyes. "Did you even sleep at all last night?" He asked incredulously. Of course the question didn't need an answer. It wasn't unheard of for Robin to spend his nights searching for fruitless clues.

"Just give me your hand so I can help you up." Robin growled, sticking out his hand.

"I think I'll stay here, thank you." Beast Boy said, sticking his nose up at the offer. Robin guffawed for a second before shaking his hand at the teen again.

"I'm not playing, Beast Boy, get off the floor." Robin growled more sternly.

"Well maybe if you hadn't punched me in the face I wouldn't be on the floor in the first place." Beast Boy counteracted stubbornly.

"You're the one that turned into a lion and tried to scare me!" Robin screamed. Still, Beast Boy had yet to let himself be helped up. Instead, he crossed his arms with a humph.

"No." He spat.

One could only imagine the dumbstruck expressions the rest of the team wore when they saw their humble leader and lovable prankster on the ground tangled up in each other with one yelling 'get up!' and the other, '"let me sit here and wallow in pain!'. It took the three other teens a good five minutes to separate the two, and even then, the arguing and complaints did not stop for an additional ten minutes.

You see, dear reader, this is only one of many arguments the two have had. In fact, their bantering has been going on a few months now, and everyday it was something different. No one knows why these arguments have started. Even Robin and Beast Boy didn't quite understand what led them to dislike each other's presence so. Still, they were both too stubborn to confide in each other and work things out, which often lead to more drama in the long run.

It was beginning to get so bad that it interfered with their crime work. Why, just the other day, the group of supers had a mad dash with a commonly villain, Control Freak. Now, Control Freak was not one of their more costly villains, but he did manage to stir up some trouble from time to time. This time, the shapely villain had decided to rob a local electronics store. He had somehow managed to make the gadgets come to life. To make a long story short, Control Freak got away because the two of them could not agree on who should take him out first.

It was beginning to become quite redundant and costly, but the two refused to solve their problems. No matter how many times their friends said they should overcome their difference, the two would just not do it. Sadly, this would become their downfall.

The two refused to talk to each other for the rest of the day. In fact, they did not even make eye contact. It was fairly difficult considering they both had stayed in the common room after the event. Neither of them were willing to remove themselves from the rest of their friends, which is why they still ate dinner and watched a movie together. Still, that did not stop the awkwardness of it all from spreading across the room, and a certain cyborg had had enough.

"Listen, I don't know what is going on between you two but-" He began, pausing the movie, only to be interrupted by unanimous screams of 'there's nothing going on between us!'. As soon as Robin and Beast Boy said this, glares were thrown between them.

"Friends, obviously there is something of the matter. You two have been acting like a bunch of gorzelkaas while waiting for their next meal." Starfire chimed in innocently, but by the blank stares she received she could tell no one understood what she was talking about.

"Maybe if Beast Boy wasn't so childish and annoying we wouldn't be arguing." Robin growled under his breath. Beast Boy had heard, however, and jumped out of his seat.

"Oh yeah, well maybe if you weren't so stuck up and boring I wouldn't have to be childish!" He yelled. Robin stood up also, meeting the green teen face to face.

"At least I act my age!" Robin retorted. Beast Boy snorted.

"I act my age. You act like a stuck up adult. News flash, dude, you're only 18." Beast Boy yelled.

"Last time I checked, that makes me a legal adult." Robin shot back. It was only a matter of time before they were screaming on top of each other. Raven, who had been meditating in the corner growled under her breath and rubbed her temples.

A beam of dark energy wrapped around the two, separating them and suspending them in mid-air. The two still did not cease their arguing. Raven sighed and stood in the middle between the two. With a raise of her hands, tendrils shot over their mouths, shutting them up.

"I'm sick and tired of all of your arguing. Need I remind you that I'm an empath so I feel every emotion that you guys are letting out. If you two don't shut up I will lock you in another dimension and leave you there until you make up." Raven growled.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea actually." Cyborg piped up.

"Do I make myself clear?" Raven asked, avoiding the cyborgs comment. The two nodded fervently. With another wave of her hand, Robin and Beast Boy were released. Robin dusted himself off before shooting one final glare at Beast Boy.

"I'm going to bed." He stated.

"Not if I get to bed first!" Beast Boy called, already making his way to the doors leading to the dorms. Robin quickly followed after him. As they both reached the door, they found it impossible for both of them to fit through at the same time. After a brief struggle of the both of them trying to fit, they managed to squeeze through, and with that they were gone.

"What are we going to do with them?" Cyborg side, pressing play on the movie.

"It's not only anger I feel from them. They're also confused." Raven stated.

"Confused about what?" Starfire asked. Raven shrugged.

"Each other." She simply stated. Cyborg and Starfire exchanged questioning glances, before turning back to Raven for elaboration. She sighed. "There's some deep down emotions that they cover up with anger to hide. The main one's I feel are confusion and love."

"Well of course they love each other." Cyborg stated. "We are a family."

"No, friend Cyborg, I think she means a different kind of love." Starfire said quietly, directing her attention to the television screen. Cyborg adjusted his gaze to meet hers. At the moment, the main characters of the movie, who had been denying their feelings for each other, had poured out their feelings for each other and had shared an intimate kiss with each other.

"No way." Cyborg gawked.

"It is the way." Starfire comforted. The three of them sat in awkward silence, processing the information. Then, out of the blue, Cyborg bursts out laughing, followed by giggles from Starfire. Even Raven cracked a smile and shook her head as she prepared herself to continue meditating.

Because how could such a ridiculous idea ever be true?

…

The next day was already foreshadowing something bad was to happen. Dark clouds hung above Jump City as thunder clapped and lightning lit up the skies. No one in their right minds would go out in weather like this. Of course, there would always be someone who was a little less than sane.

"Have any of you seen friend Beast Boy or Robin?" Starfire asked, floating into the kitchen to where her friends we located.

"Not since last night." Cyborg shrugged, flipping his waffle.

"Oh, I do wish they are the alright." Starfire mused.

"They just need to blow off some steam." Raven soothed, in her monotonous tone. The three sat down to eat breakfast together, usually something reserved for the five of them, but seeming as that was not an option they continued eating.

Just then the doors opened and in walked Robin. He walked with a sense of authority and confidence. His cape fluttered behind him gracefully as he made his way to the kitchen. Without a word he grabbed an apple, and retreated back into the corridors.

The three at the table exchanged glances but shrugged it off. It wasn't unheard of for him to be in one of his leadership moods. A few minutes later, Beast Boy walked through the doors, a distraught and tired look on his face. He practically dragged himself into the kitchen. Without a word spoken, he grabbed a banana and walked back out the room.

Now something was sure to be wrong.

"Maybe I should go talk to them." Cyborg inquired. Raven shook her head.

"They need to sort this out themselves." She said. "Besides-" As if planned, the crime alert went off. The three jumped out of their seats, rushing towards the main frame. Cyborg typed furiously on the keypad, searching for the source of the problem.

A few seconds later, Robin ran into the room, Beast Boy not far behind. They both made their way towards their friends; Robin giving a non-too-friendly glare to Beast Boy when he accidentally stepped on his cape.

"Who is it?" Robin demanded, making his presence known.

"Don't know," Cyborg stated. A map appeared on the screen, with a focus point glowing bright red. "But he's attacking Central Jump."

"Ok, everyone meet down there and regroup. Titans Go!" With that everyone made a mad dash to their respective needs of transportation. Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy left through the windows while Robin and Cyborg went to the garage to get their vehicles.

The rain was pounding hard against the ground as the group of supers sped through the city. Thankfully, there weren't a lot of civilians on the streets, so they didn't have to watch their speed and who was surrounding them as they made their way through the city. It was only a matter of a few minutes before the group reached the edge of Central Jump. They all regrouped a few blocks away, where they could hear sounds of destruction.

They all huddled into a small circle, waiting for their leader to come up with a game plan.

"Alright team, we don't know who we're up against so don't try to do anything without knowing the full extent of his powers. Got it?" Robin asked, to which the small group nodded. "We attack from all four sides. Raven, Starfire, Cyborg, you have your own wing, Beast Boy and I will have whatever's left." Everyone game the raven haired boy a confused expression, but no one questioned it.

The group split up, each going in different directions. Robin and Beast Boy took the leftmost flight, moving quietly through all the puddles. They stopped at the corner as they heard the sound of maniacal laughter. The two exchanged glances before peering around the building.

In the center of the city, a man was floating in midair. His hands stretched towards the sky as white light cast out of them. His head fell back, letting out another howl of laughter. He had long blond hair and pale skin. His clothes looked to be something from medieval times.

The two boys could clearly see the other members of the group had successfully surrounded the man. Robin signaled that they would all attack on his go. With a wave of his hand, the five teens attacked. Raven and Starfire took to the skies while with their eyes glowing while Cyborg ran with his sonic cannon loaded. Beast Boy immediately turned into a pterodactyl, picked up his leader by his talons, and flew towards the man, while Robin had his bird-a-rang in hand.

Just as it looked like they would all have a clear shot of the man, the villain's head suddenly shot up, and white light hit each of the heroes, sending them spiraling to the ground. As the teens struggled to get up, the man floated to the ground, a large grin plastered on his face.

"Ah, the Teen Titans," he cooed. "It is a pleasure we meet. I was prepared for a fight, but I see you're already accepting defeat."

"Wait...is he rhyming?" Beast Boy asked, shaking his head.

"Who are you?" Robin demanded.

"I go by many a names, Arian and Elymas to name a few. But most just simply call me the Magic Man. So tell me children, how do you do?" Magic Man asked, earning unanimous groans from the group of team.

"Why are you destroying our city?" Cyborg yelled, annoyed with the constant use of iambic petameter.

"Ah, good question my metallic friend. You see, I feel like your reign on this city should come to an end. You and your comrades are always making a muck; and when you throw people away you don't give a-"

"Can we just hurry up and fight already?" Raven drawled. "Need I remind you it's raining."

"I see you're in a rush, but do not worry. This battle will soon be over in a hurry." The sorcerer chanted.

"I do wish he would cease the rhyming." Starfire said exasperatedly.

"Let's just get this over with. Titans go!" With the infamous battle cry, the teens took off. It seemed like the Titans had the upper hand, for the magical man had trouble counteracting each of their attacks at the same time. It wasn't long until the sorcerer found himself on the ground, panting and out of breath.

The teens surrounded the man, keeping their guard up. The man smiled, exposing his blood-covered teeth. He kept his head down as he let out a low chuckle.

"I supposed you think you have won, why, look at the damage you have done. But you have the advantage don't you see? For there are five of you and only one of me. Let's see how you fare when it's not five to one, but five to three!"

A blinding light surrounded the man, causing the group of heroes to shield their eyes. When the light finally faded, the teens saw something quite peculiar. In the place where Magic Man was, stood three exact replicas of himself. They each let out a chilling laugh before taking off to the skies, splitting up.

Robin cursed.

"Split up and report if you find one. Titans go!" The group nodded before splitting up. Cyborg and Starfire took the left flight, while Starfire the right, leaving Robin and Beast Boy alone to go straight. They both gave warning glares to each other before sprinting towards their destination. Actually, racing would be a better word. The two ran side by side, with the occasional shove from one or the other.

The puddles splashed back and wet their ankles as the water above caused their hair to remain matted to their foreheads. It seemed like the weather had gotten even worse as lighting began to strike every few seconds, immediately followed by the loud boom of thunder.

Robin was the first to come to a stop, yanking Beast Boy back and behind a building. Beast Boy was about to yell in protest when noticed a Magic Man robbing a jewelry store.

"I'll contact the Titans." Beast Boy whispered, taking out his communicator. Robin nodded as Beast Boy pressed the red button on the side which would alert the rest of the teams.

"Here's the plan-" Robin whispered before being interrupted.

"Why can't I ever make the plan?" Beast Boy whispered harshly.

"Now is not the time." Robin growled. Beast Boy folded his arms stubbornly. Robin groaned, slapping his hand on his face and letting it run down. "Fine, what's your plan?" Robin asked.

"Um…" Beast Boy hummed, tapping his chin.

"You don't even have a plan?" Robin yelled.

"Well it's not like I ever have the chance to!" Beast Boy screamed back.

"This is why we can't get anything done!"

"So now I'm the problem?"

It wasn't long before the two were yelling over each other. However, neither had noticed the watchful eye who had witnessed their bickering. The Magic Man tapped his chin in thought as he watched the teens argue. Then an idea popped into his head: a very devious idea indeed.

He rubbed his hands together excitedly as he stuffed his jewels into his pocket. He then cracked his fingers, readying himself for possibly the best idea he had in awhile. He made his way to the still bickering boys, clearing his throat. The two stopped, immediately getting into defensive position.

"I couldn't help but notice the hostility, so pardon my inquiry, but it seems you two enjoy to fight; and as two people who are supposedly friends, well, that just isn't right."

"You're going down, dude!" Beast Boy yelled. Robin groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, earning a confused 'what' from the green teen.

"Oh what a shame. You two argue as if it were a childish game. Now I am able to see that you two need desperate help from me." The man's eyes began to glow a bright white as he began to hover above the ground.

"All's fair in love and war. You've battled long and will battle more. Too long has this fight have reign. Only peace of mind will end the game. Given time, you'll decipher my rhyme. Until then, you're intertwined." Before the two could react, white light surrounded them. Robin instinctively covered his younger companion as the light encased them in a tight bubble.

The two closed their eyes as the light got even brighter. Then, everything went black and the two fell unconscious.

The Magic Man smirked as he eyed the two resting teens. From a distance, he could hear the loud footsteps coming towards them at full speed. He let out one last howl of laughter before disappearing into thin air, just as the other titans arrived at the scene.

Once the group noticed their fallen teammates on the ground, they were quick to their aid. Cyborg made sure to check their pulse first, and with a sigh of relief, he turned back towards the girls behind him.

"It's ok guys, they're just unconscious-" suddenly Robin sat up, taking in a big intake of breath.

"Friend Robin, you are the ok!" Starfire cheered.

"What happened?" He asked hoarsely.

"We don't know. We got an alert from Beast Boy, and on our way here we saw the whole sky light up white." Raven explained.

"We were most worried." Starfire sighed. Robin looked down at the unconscious figure beside him. he gently shook him, earning a grunt from the green teen.

"Five more minutes." He mumbled before turning over. Robin rolled his eyes beneath his mask before giving Beast Boy another shove, this time harder than before. Beast Boy jolted awake, coughing violently. Once he finished, he looked around, confused.

"Did we win?" Beast Boy asked. Cyborg shook his head.

"He got away." Cyborg stated.

"He got away?" Robin repeated. "What are we doing still sitting here? Let's go!" Robin stood up and began to run. However, something was wrong.

Beast Boy yelped as he was suddenly yanked forward, bumping into the back of Robin and causing them both to fall.

"Beast Boy, what gives!" Robin demanded.

"I didn't do anything, you pulled me!" He yelled, scrambling to get up. "Besides, I can smell him, and he definitely went this way." Beast Boy said. He began to run in the other direction, only to have Robin be pulled forward and land on the back of him, causing them to fall once again.

"I think we have a bigger problems at the moment." Raven said, awestruck. The two groggily stood up again and exchanged surprised glances.

"You go left, I go right." Robin stated. Beast boy nodded. On the count of three, they both tried to move in their respective direction, however, neither could do so. They were not able to get more than a foot away from each other. After a few minutes of fruitless struggle, they stopped, completely out of breath.

"Well, this can't be good." Cyborg said, stating the obvious.

"What's going on?" Beast Boy asked.

"It would appear that the two of you are...glued together." Starfire answered. Robin and Beast Boy stared at each other in shock before groaning.

Could things get any worse?

 **new story? Yeah, I know I haven't even finished Grayson High yet (and I will) but this story has been bugging me for awhile and I thought I'd give it a try. It's not one of my typical stories but I think it has good potential.**

 **If you like where this is heading then please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Grunts and pants filled the room as the two tried to maintain their stamina. No matter how hard they tried, they could not create a distance of more than a foot apart. It was becoming a tedious thing to do; they had been trying for the past two hours. Even the strength of Starfire and Cyborg combined could not unlatch these two unlucky companions.

They were completely and utterly stuck.

The two sat on the uncomfortable bed that remained in the medical bay. They sat as far apart from each other as physically possible, both wearing a look of dissatisfaction. Beast Boy sat with his arms crossed with a slight pout etching on his lips. Occasionally he would sneak glances at the boy wonder beside him to compare facial expressions. Robin, however, found it difficult to sit still. He twiddled with his communicator, turning it off and on in hopes of distracting himself. However, that proved to be unconventional, for his mind still wandered to the green teen glued beside him.

How ironic was their situation! Two people, whom seemingly hated each other, bound together by a simple spell! Why, it was as if destiny despised them so much so that it sent fate to do the worse possible crime against them. It was almost too good too be true.

Just then, the door slid open. Raven glided in with her hood covering the majority of her face. Even so, the boys could make out her deep frown hidden by the shadows. In her hands was a large, ancient looking book. Pages were sticking out in every which angle and the tarnished look of those pages gave it the vibe of being fragile. Robin and Beast Boy instantly perked up at her arrival.

"So…" Beast Boy urged, clutching the mattress. Robin rolled his eyes at his eagerness, but even he couldn't deny his curiosity. Raven gave him a sideways glance before placing the book on the bedside table, opening it to a marked page.

"I found a detachment spell." She stated.

"Will it work?" Robin asked hopefully. Raven hesitated before picking up the book and placing herself in front of them.

"Magic Man's magic is like none I've ever seen before it's...It's powerful." She pressed her lips together as she watched the two boys deflate. "But it wouldn't hurt to try." She added wistfully. She waited for the two boys approval before clearing her throat. Her foreign mantras echoed across the room until a bright light surrounded the fastened duo. However, it didn't last long before her spell was reflected by a great force, causing her to be sent flying across the room.

The boys quickly ran to her aid, helping her onto her feet. Her hood had fallen off her head, exposing her wide eyes. She slowly picked up the book and sighed.

"It looks like you two or going to be stuck for awhile." Raven stated.

"A while?" The two cried simultaneously. Raven shrugged turning on her heel.

"I'll do the best I can, but his magic is like none that I've ever seen before." She began to glide away before pausing. "Did he say anything to you before he cast the spell?"

"I remember something about war and peace." Robin offered. Raven turned to Beast Boy for any other hints, only to receive a feeble shrug. Raven sighed.

"I'll see what I can do. Until then, try not to kill each other." And with that final statement she had vanished. Robin and Beast Boy stood in awkward silence, both in disbelief. It was only until the caped leader cleared his throat did sound erupt in the room.

"Come on." Robin said. With no choice as the boy wonder headed to the door, Beast Boy quickly followed close behind.

"Uh, dude, where are we going?" Beast Boy asked, trying desperately to keep up with Robin's fastening pace.

"If you hadn't noticed, dude, there is a dangerous criminal on the loose. We can't just stand around and do nothing. Even if we are bound together." The last part of Robin's sentence was mumbled, as if Beast Boy was not supposed to hear him. But he had.

"Don't you think we should shower first? Or at least get out of these clothes. They're soaking wet." Robin suddenly stopped, causing Beast Boy to run into the back of him. Robin looked down at himself, seemingly just now noticing how drenched his costume was. He was surprised he hadn't noticed it before; wet spandex was not comfortable.

"I guess...a shower wouldn't hurt." Robin said slowly. Beast Boy grinned triumphantly, happy that he wouldn't have to watch Robin do his boring leadership duties. They did not speak as they walked up to Beast Boy's room to get a change of clothes. Robin had been in his room enough times to know to expect the worse. Beast Boy was especially for being a hoarder. However, much to Robin's surprise, Beast Boy's room was actually clean.

"Yeah...um...I guess I grew out of my hoarding phase." Beast Boy mumbled sheepishly after seeing his shocked expression.

"I don't think I've ever seen your floor." Robin breathed. Beast Boy let out a forced chuckled before leading them towards his closet where he pulled out a tee-shirt, shorts, and undergarments. Then the two headed to Robin's room to grab his own set of clothes.

From what Beast Boy could remember from the one time he had been in Robin's room (which Robin hadn't completely given him permission to do), it was neat and tidy with the bare necessities; not to mention a bit intimidating. His room reflected everything his leader was: organized, cool, always knowing where everything was and was meant to be, as well as suffocating at times.

And oh, were Beast Boy's predictions about the caped crusaders room true. If Beast Boy hadn't known any better, he would say the room was exactly the same way it had been when he first visited. Robin didn't waste any time in grabbing his belongings and getting out, as if afraid Beast Boy would somehow destroy his room with his mere presence.

As the two began to walk down to the washrooms, a sudden realization dawned on the green teen, making him blush. He cleared his throat sheepishly, nervously clutching the bundle of clothes to his chest.

"Uh..Rob?" Beast Boy stammered, earning a raised brow from said teen. "Did it ever occur to you that we would have to shower...together?" Their pace slowed as Robin processed the information, and by the darkening on his cheeks, Robin hadn't thought of the idea either. He cleared his throat.

"We're both...guys...it shouldn't be that big of an iss-"

"Yeah, but I don't want you to see me naked!" Beast Boy shrieked hysterically. Robin pinched the bridge of his nose, taking in a big intake of breath.

"We don't have to look at each other," Robin seethed through gritted teeth. "Besides, I don't want to see you naked either." Beast Boy suddenly stopped in front of the washroom, causing Robin to do the same. He cocked his hip to the side and folded his arms, obviously offended.

"Oh, so you don't think my body is good enough for your eyes to see?" Beast Boy asked. Robin blinked, confused.

"That's not what I sai-"

"I'm sorry we can't all be Mr. Perfect body-"

"What are you even talking abou-"

"I for one like my body just the way it is, thank you." Beast Boy stated, adding a humph and a nose turn for emphasis. Robin was too confused to defend his case any longer, and he wondered if the boy suffered from bi-polarism. Without another word, Beast Boy barged into the room, dragging behind a very dumbfounded Robin.

The washroom wasn't anything spectacular. There were five different showers, each enclosed with its own curtain to reserve privacy. The only real time the team had to use it at the same time was after an especially messy battle resulting in bad odor. Everyone had their own special times to use the room otherwise.

Beast Boy angrily led them to the bench, where he pounded his clothes onto it. Robin watched curiously as he neatly folded his clothes before placing it on the bench. Once he was done, he was met with Beast Boy's still very annoyed expression, topped off with crossed arms and all. Robin sighed.

"Look, I don't think we have to shower at the same time. There's enough room for one to take a shower behind closed curtains as long as the other stands closely on the other side of it." Robin stated.

"And if their isn't?" Beast Boy urged.

"If there isn't we'll just have to shower together," Robin said. "Without getting into an argument about body types." he added. After a few seconds, Beast Boy took this as a plausible solution and nodded.

Despite how uncomfortable his spandex made him, Robin told Beast Boy he could shower first. The plan was going smoothly. As Beast Boy showered, Robin stood closely to the outside to ensure no magical force would cause them to collide together. He tapped his foot eagerly, waiting for his turn to get out of the sticky material. Finally, the shower stopped and Robin could hear the water draining. There was a bit of commotion before he heard a 'crap' from the green teen.

"What is it?" Robin sighed. Their was some more rustling before he got an answer.

"You wouldn't have happened to grab my clothes for me, would you?" Came Beast Boy's meek voice. Robin looked across the room to the bench, where his and Beast Boy's clothes laid. He groaned.

"Do you at least have a towel?" Robin asked. By the answerless reply, Robin already knew the answer. Sighing for the umpteenth time, Robin unbuckled his cape, tossing it over the curtain and waiting for Beast Boy to grab it. "It's dirty and wet but at least it's better than you running around buck naked." Robin mumbled.

"Thanks." Beast Boy said, grabbing the piece of fabric. Robin retreated his hand and waited. About ten seconds later, Beast Boy emerged from the shower stall, the cape loosely draped around his waist. Although he kept his head down, Robin could still make out the deep red stain on the boy's cheeks.

Without a word, they both headed to the bench. Robin picked up the boys tossed clothes and towel before handing it to him. Beast Boy thanked him, grabbing the belongings with one hand, (the other was keeping the cape in place) and turning around. But he hadn't made any notion that he was going to change. Instead, he turned around halfway to look up at the leader, a seemingly even deeper shade of red tinting his cheeks.

"Um...can you turn around, dude?" Beast Boy mumbled. Robin's eyes widened at the realization that his friend had been trying to change and he was just staring like some pervert.

"Right...yeah...sorry…" Robin stuttered, turning around so that his back was facing the green teen. Beast Boy gave him one last look before turning around himself, dropping the cape onto the floor.

Robin couldn't lie to himself; he was tempted to look, as wrong as it sounded. He was curious. Beast Boy had made such a big deal about his body earlier that it made Robin think he was hiding something. As leader, it was his job to make sure that each of his teammates were safe and secure, even if that meant in their own skin. What if Beast Boy was hiding something that could be potentially dangerous? End yet, the other part of his mind told him to be reasonable, that Beast Boy genuinely just wanted privacy. Sadly, Robin was never good at being reasonable.

Robin slowly peeked over his shoulder. Beast Boy's hair was still wet and matted onto his head. Robin could make out the drops of water that would drain to the ends of his hair before dripping onto his skin. He was a bit on the leaner side, and it sparked him as odd as his hips dip and expanded, sort of like a girls. However, Beast Boy wasn't that muscular and he figured it came with the teens flexibility and shoulder blades protruded out noticeably, leaving a grooved path for the water running down his back.

For the most part, Robin didn't find anything particularly out of the ordinary about the boy's body. If anything, the only thing abnormal was his green skin. However, Robin dared himself to look lower. While Beast Boy was busy drying off his arms, Robin began examining the boy's lower region. He never noticed how plump the boy's rear was, probably because he never paid it notice. But there it was, roundly shaped and firm. Robin could feel his face heat up as the hormonal thoughts of a teenager spang up, however he pushed them aside. He was only looking for his friends sake.

Quickly looking past the boys rear, he traveled down to the boy's toned legs. He never noticed how shapely or how long they were. Although on the shorter side, Beast Boy really did have long legs, and the definition of his calves and thighs hinted at the fact that he ran a lot. They weren't overly muscular, nor not too undefined.

So why did Beast Boy react so aggressively towards him. Robin couldn't find any reason for him to be embarrassed. His body wasn't anything to be ashamed of, and Robin had simply reassured him that he didn't want to see him naked either (though, he couldn't say that now). If anything, Robin thought Beast Boy had the ideal body type. He wasn't too muscular, nor to scrawny. He had admirable parts that he was sure many people would craved to have. That people would want for themselves for their own enjoyment.

Robin blinked, furrowing his brows. He had not just thought people would want his body for...did he hit his head or something? He should not have thought that, especially about another boy, and especially when it brought a certain heat to the bottom of his stomach. He turned away from said boy, and it was the last time he looked at him again before he was fully changed.

By the time Robin got to take his shower, things ran more smoothly. Beast Boy had held his clothes and towel while he bathed, so Robin was able to change without having to step out of the curtains. Within another fifteen minutes, the two emerged out of the washroom, relieved of their sticky uniforms.

"So I assume you wanna go search for Looney Man now, right?" Beast Boy questioned. Robin pressed his lips together, keeping his eyes ahead although he could feel the green teen staring him down. He still felt guilty over examining Beast Boy whilst naked and thinking inappropriate thoughts about it.

"It's actually getting kind of late, and it's been a long day. We should get some rest." At this Beast Boy grinned, relieved he wouldn't have to watch his leader do pointless research.

"Sweet!" Beast Boy cheered. "If you want, we could sleep in my room."

"I'd actually prefer my own." Robin stated. Beast Boy raised his eyebrow, recalling how Robin was so eager to leave his bedroom before. However, he shrugged it off, knowing that being invited into Robin's room wasn't an everyday thing.

They arrived into Robin's room after grabbing a quick snack for dinner. Beast Boy yawned, feeling his energy was being deprived with every passing second. Robin led them to the side of his bed, where he sat down and began removing his shoes. Beast Boy stook awkwardly at the edge, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"Yes?" Robin asked, laying down on the bed and resting his head on his hands.

"Do I…" Beast Boy suddenly felt embarrassed. "Do I sleep on the floor?"

"That's ridiculous Beast Boy. I'm not going to make you sleep on the floor unless that's what you usually do." Robin nodded towards the other side of the bed. "There's enough room for the both of us."

"Oh, ok." Beast Boy breathed. He awkwardly shuffled to onto the bed, trying to keep his distance from his masked leader as he lay down. He turned his back away from him, fluffing the pillow a bit before closing his eyes.

"Goodnight, dude." Beast Boy said. The only reply he got was a small sound of acknowledgement. Within a few minutes, he was fast asleep. However, Robin was wide awake, the image of of Beast Boy's naked body replaying in his mind.

 **First off, if anyone was wondering why I deleted the chapter and reposted it, some of the paragraphs got mixed up and it needed to be fixed so I deleted and reposted.**

 **Secondly, sorry for the long wait! I honestly have no clue what I'm doing with this story so I'm just winging it as I write**

 **but if you like this you should totally review! *wink wink***


	3. Chapter 3

Ah! How unfortunate was there situation? Though, who could say this predicament wasn't to be foreshadowed? But do not fret, dear reader, their deprivation had only just begun. The beasts may be tamed now, but let's see how long that calm demeanor will last, hm?

Robin suddenly felt cold air stab his skin, causing him to let out a groan of discomfort. He blindly reached for the warmth he once had, feeling for the cloth that had covered him. Once he finally found it, he yanked the cloth back onto himself before letting out a content sigh. However, just as quickly as the warmth came, it had fled away, causing Robin's eyes to shoot wide open.

Letting out groan, Robin groggily sat up, rubbing his masked eyes. Looking over at the boy beside him, he narrowed his eyes. Not only had he taken all of the blanket from the elder, but he had took up the majority of the bed with his body! On one hand, the boy was angry that the other had no decency for his own space. On the other hand, he questioned how he managed to sleep comfortably with so many joints bent.

Rolling his eyes, Robin turned his head to the clock on his bedside table and gasped. He hadn't realized he had overslept. He was notorious for always being an "early bird"; he couldn't even remember the last time he had overslept.

"Wake up." Robin hissed, shaking the sleeping green teen. Beast Boy lazily batted his hand away, moaning to be left alone. Growling, Robin shook him with enough force to shake the whole bed. This seemed to do the trick, and Beast Boy sprang up with a dazed expression.

"Dude," Beast Boy groaned, rubbing his sore eyes. "That was one crazy dre-" He stopped mid-sentence as he finally opened his eyes and examined his surroundings. When his eyes landed on Robin, he let out a shriek of surprise. "Please tell me that was a dream."

And oh, how they both wished that it was a dream. Alas, Robin confirmed their situation true. There was an awkward moment of silence between the two lads as they tried to wrap their heads around their situation.

"So…" Beast Boy quarried, breaking the awkward tension. "What now?"

"I guess we try to live our lives as normally as we can." Robin suggested, though the way he said it sounded like more of a question. Beast Boy, however, saw that as a reasonable response and nodded in agreement. "Alright then, let's go."

Beast Boy groaned as Robin got off of the bed, forcing him to follow suite. Robin lead them to his wardrobe, wear he pulled out his infamous stoplight themed costume. Beast Boy awkwardly followed the caped crusader through his everyday morning routine, but not amused in the slightest.

Though it didn't take long for him to get dressed, Beast Boy felt as if he were ready to go back to sleep. By the time it was finally his turn to get ready, it was already nearing noon. The duo walked the long corridors to the shapeshifters room, neither of them knowing whether to speak or not. A few times, Beast Boy had opened his mouth to speak, but closed it once he saw his leader's stern expression. That was when the green lad had an idea.

"Hey Robin," Beast Boy called in a sing-song voice, earning his leader's attention. "How do you tell if a vampire's sick?" At the question, the Boy Wonder's shoulders deflated and he let out an annoyed groan.

"Not now, Beast Boy." He mumbled, shooting the smaller teen a glare. However, the other merely grinned, batting his eyes comically.

"Come on, I know it'll make you laugh." Beast Boy urged as he clasped his hands together. Luckily, the two had reached the shifters room, and Robin was spared the heinous joke. Beast Boy placed his hands on the scanner, which turned green on identification.

The door slid open, and the two lads walked into the room. Beast Boy led them to his closet, where he pulled out his own uniform. After doing his more simplistic morning routine, they headed down to the common room, where there friends were waiting for them.

"Friends, you did not tear each other the apart!" Starfire cheered upon seeing them walked through the main doors. She flew to them at lightning speed, wrapping her arms around the two boys in a tight, bear hug. "I was most afraid you would not survive the night!" She cried, setting them down. The two boy's were breathing heavily as they tried to regain circulation in their limbs. After all these years, they were still not used to her embraces.

"Have a little faith in us, Star." Beast Boy groaned, earning giggles from the alien. Cyborg was the next to greet them as they walked towards the kitchen. Cyborg spun around, holding out two plates of food.

"I made breakfast!" He hollard, sliding the two dishes towards the teens.

"What's the occasion?" Robin asked, sitting down on a stool. Meanwhile, Beast Boy was poking at the tofu on his plate, contemplating on whether or not it was safe to eat.

"Yeah! Since when do you make tofu?" Beast Boy accused, pointing the utensil with a piece of tofu on it at his metallic friend. Cyborg noticeably grimaced, and calmly pushed the food aside.

"Don't remind me." Cyborg said, swallowing a bit of bile. "And can't I do something nice for you guys?"

"We don't need special treatment," Robin stated seriously. "Beast Boy and I are doing just fine, aren't we?" He then turned towards the green teen and grimaced. Beast Boy had been stuffing his face with tofu, and at the question, had stopped with his cheeks full with the substance. "I think I lost my appetite."

"Where's Raven?" Beast Boy asked, though it wasn't easy to understand, for his mouth was still stuffed.

"She said something about finding another spell." Cyborg shrugged.

"Good." Robin said, placing a pushing the stool out. "Meanwhile, Beast Boy and I will start searching for any clues on Magic Man."

"Aw man, that so boring!" Beast Boy whined. However, Robin simply ignored his complaint, and got up. Without warning, he began walking towards the doors, dragging a very fervent Beast Boy behind him. "My tofu!" He cried as the doors swished close.

* * *

The research station was somewhat reserved in the Titans Tower. Though it was open to anyone, it was primarily used by the Boy Wonder. He often became obsessive when he entered this room; he was never one to start something without planning on finishing it. And oh, could Robin spend hours in this little, confined room.

Robin's continually twitched as the thumping continued in a constant pattern, however, he kept his eyes steady on the screen as he replayed the captured video from the fight with Magic Man. He had reviewed the same footage almost twenty times, and hadn't picked out a thing. Another thump had the Boy Wonder slamming on the keyboard, letting out a restrained scream.

"Would you quit it." Robin seethed through gritted teeth. Beast Boy stopped hitting his head on the filing cabinet and looked up at his leader with an uninterested expression. He had been sitting on the floor as Robin worked on the monitor, and after thirty minutes of sitting there, he had become entirely bored.

"There's nothing else to do." Beast Boy groaned as he continued to his his head against the cabinet.

"Then why don't you help me look at the footage." Robin growled, motioning angrily towards the monitor.

"No thanks, dude." Beast Boy sighed after a moment's paused. "Besides, by the rate you're going we're never going to find him." At this Robin felt the anger rise with him as he shot up in his chair.

"Don't you want to break this spell?" He yelled, his face turning red. Beast Boy shrugged.

"I'm just being realistic. Even if we find him, what makes you think he'll break the spell?" Beast Boy said, as he continued the hit his head.

"Don't you care about anything? This is serious!" Robin screamed, his face now as red as a tomato as he tried to restrain himself from strangling his younger teammate.

"All I'm saying is for all we know, it could be a curse; not a spell." Beast Boy stated. At this, Robin blinked, raising an eyebrow.

"What's the difference?" He asked. Beast Boy stopped, giving him an obvious expression.

"If it were a spell, Raven would've been able to break it easily. Unlike spells, curses can't be broken unless you complete whatever the curse told you to do. Duh." Beast Boy said, crossing his arms.

"And you know this, because…?" At this, Beast Boy sprang to his feet and pulled out a comic book seemingly from thin air, shoving it at his leader's face.

"It's all in the latest issue of Wizards and Warlocks!" Beast Boy cried, flipping through the pages. "It has everything you need to know about these types of things." Instead of questioning it, Robin simply shook his head, accepting his answer.

"Alright, say it's a curse. Then what?" Robin asked. Beast Boy tapped on his chin, furrowing his eyebrows in thought.

"If we figure out whatever he said before casting the curse, we can find a way to break it." Beast Boy suggested, and Robin nodded in agreement. "Now can we do something fun?" Beast Boy whined.

"Alright," Robin said, crossing his arms. "Let's do something fun."

* * *

"Newsflash dude, this is not fun!" Beast Boy whined.

The two had migrated to the training room. Currently, Beast Boy was clutching a punching bag, trying not to be sent flying away as Robin ruthlessly kicked and punched at it. You see, my friends, Robin was an exercise junky. If he wasn't fighting crime or hanging out with his teammates, you could often find him in the training room. Robin knew that he had to work twice as hard as the others, not only because he was their leader, but he had the disadvantage of being powerless.

"Newsflash," Robin grunted, kicking the bag. "Training isn't supposed to fun." He stopped, panting and squatting down. Beast Boy peered from the behind the bag, eyes wide as if expecting another punch. Robin the stood up, placing his hands on his hips. "Wanna spar?"

At the question, the green mutant jumped, letting out a squeak.

"Spar? As in...hand to hand combat? No thank you." Beast Boy said quickly, shaking his head. Robin cocked his head to the side and smirked.

"What? Afraid I'll beat you?" Robin cooed. At this, Beast Boy straightened up and stomped his foot angrily.

"No!" I-I'm just worried you wouldn't be able to handle me, that's all." Beast Boy cried, though his voice was unconvincing. As if to prove a point, he pushed past his leader and began walking with exaggerated confidence towards the arena. Robin followed behind, shaking his head with a smile.

Ooh, a fight! Now this is what we're all here to see. As the duo climbed into the arena, it was becoming more and more evident of how nervous Beast Boy was. As they made their way to the center, Beast Boy was visibly shaking.

"Ready?" Robin asked, as he began bouncing on his feet. Beast Boy slowly nodded, bringing up his fist in defence. Robin gave him a weird look before shrugging. He then threw a punch at the shapeshifter; or what was supposed to be the shifter. Instead he his thin air.

Robin looked down to see a quaking shell of a turtle at his feet. Raising an eyebrow, Robin stooped down and picked up the green turtle, which was still shaking in his hand.

"You know, you can't fight being a turtle?" Robin asked softly. Suddenly, a small green head popped out of the shell. In a mere second, Beast Boy sat in front of him, nervously giggling and rubbing his neck.

"Of course, dude. I was just...seeing if you were really ready." Beast Boy suggested.

"I could teach you in hand to hand combat." Robin said, standing up and offering a hand to the other.

"Really?" Beast Boy asked, accepting the gesture.

"It'll be good skill to have in case there's ever a situation where you can't use your powers." Robin said, hoisting the younger of the two. Beast Boy nodded in agreement, and got back in his defensive stance.

"First of all," Robin said, walking behind him and placing his hands on his raised fist. There bodies were pressed together as Robin guided the shifter hands downward; it previously covering his face like a shield. Beast Boy could feel his face start to head up as Robin rested his chin on his shoulder blade. He could feel Robin's hot breath tickling his neck. "Your stance is weak. You want to find your center so that you're able to move efficiently." Robin said.

Beast Boy was too afraid of his voice betraying him, so instead he nodded his head in agreement. Robin stepped away, placing his hands on either side of his shoulders. He gently pushed him downwards, bending the boy's knees. Using his foot, he moved one of of Beast Boy's forward.

"Perfect." He said, letting go entirely. For some reason, Beast Boy missed the sensation. Robin maneuvered back in front of the teen, examining his work. "Now," he said, getting into his own stance. "Block my punches. Don't worry, I'll go slow." He added the last part as Beast Boy's expression turned to one of worry.

He started off throwing punches at Beast Boy at slow sets of threes. Though it took awhile for Beast Boy to get used to the motion, he eventually got used to it enough for Robin to speed up the process. About an hour into the session passed, and Beast Boy had worked up the courage to full on fight his leader with offense and defense.

Currently the two were dancing around the rank. They're steps seemed in sync as they stepped around the arena, throwing and dodging punches. It was more difficult than expected since they could only be but so far from each other, but they made it work. However, Beast Boy had gotten excited by his triumph, and decided to switch up what they had previously been doing, catching Robin by surprise.

He had seen the boy wonder do this on various occasions during actual fights, and thought he should give it a go. In a swift motion, he dodged the boy wonder's fist and wrapped his hands around his arm. Usually, Robin would be able to get himself out of this situation, but he was unaware Beast Boy would try something like this. Using all of his might, Beast Boy lifted the boy up and threw him over his shoulder.

For a brief moment, Beast Boy felt triumph. That is, until, he suddenly felt his feet leave the ground, and he too, was sent flying backwards. It seems our friend had momentarily forgotten the curse casted upon them, and as a result, he too was sent crashing to the ground. The two were seemingly rolling on top of one another as they barreled backwards. A few seconds later, they both came to a stop.

Robin had landed on his hands and knees, and he groaned, shaking his head in an attempt to stop the world from spinning. Once he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see Beast Boy beneath him, eyes wide, and his face turning an unhealthy shade of read.

Suddenly, Robin understood why he looked embarrassed as realization struck him. His hands were at either side of the boy's face, while his legs had Beast Boy's torso strapped in between them. To make matters worse, there faces were mere inches apart. Suddenly, the caped leaders face started to burn also.

However, neither of them made any notion to move. In fact, they were stone still, just staring into one another's eyes. Robin had never realized how big, nor how bright the other teen's eyes were. He swore he could see his own reflection through them. He also never noticed the varying shades of green in his eyes, nor the specs of brown. Somehow, he found this sight almost mesmerizing.

"Um…" Beast Boy said, averting his eyes as he could no longer hold his stare. He was blushing harder than he ever thought he could. However, he focused his gazed back onto Robin's masked eyes.

As if gravity were pulling them together, they slowly began to fill the gap between them. Just as it seemed like their lips would touch, the doors suddenly flew open. Beast Boy let out a screech, pushing the boy wonder off of him. They both quickly stood up, meeting Cyborg's shocked expression.

"It's not what it looks like!" They both cried simultaneously before giving one another cold glares.

"Right," Cyborg drawled out, slowly backing away. "I was gonna see if y'all wanted lunch, but I can see that you're...busy." He said, looking the two up and down. Robin pinched his nose as Beast Boy struggled for an explanation.

"You know what, I don't even want to know." Cyborg said, and the door swished close. Beast Boy stood with his mouth agape at the door.

"This is all your fault." Robin groaned.

"My fault?" Beast Boy repeated defensively.

"You're the one that threw me for no reason!" Robin seethed.

"Yeah well-well," Beast Boy said, pointing an accusing finger. "What were you trying to do just now?" Robin guffawed, pointing an equally accusing finger.

"What do you mean what was I trying to do? What were you trying to do?" At this, Beast Boy looked away, trying to hide his blush. Robin, too, could start to feel the sting at his cheek at the thought. "Look, let's just agree to never talk about this again."

"Agreed!" Beast Boy eagerly replied. "Now, come one," He said, grabbing the Boy Wonder's wrist. "Let's eat!" He then dragged him out of the room, and to the common room where his friends awaited.

And although neither of them talked about the occurrence for the rest of the day, they surely both thought of it.

* * *

 **It's been awhile, huh? I finally know where I want to take this story, so be prepared!**

 **Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

The double doors leading into the common room swished open. Robin and Beast Boy entered the room, side by side, each wearing uncomfortable expressions on their faces. Their friends were gathered at the dinner table, and at their arrival, had immediately ceased their conversations. This, of course, only increased the awkward tension as the two joined the group, taking a seat at the table.

"Um...what's for lunch?" Beast Boy suddenly asked after a few uncomfortable moments of silence. The red headed alien immediately perked up at the question, clasping her hands together joyfully.

"I have prepared the homemade pizza for your feastings." She said with a warm smile. Now, it wasn't everyday that the team allowed her to fix their meals. Her odd cuisines often did not settle well in the heroes stomach. Nearly all of her creations consisted of a half-cooked, strange, animal, which she swore was a delicacy on her home planet. However, the two boys felt nauseous at the thought of Starfire's cooking. She even had strangest cravings for food on Earth, too. One of which was mustard, which she topped on almost anything.

Raven noticed the disgust on their faces, and rolled her eyes under her hoodie.

"I watched her." She stated monotonously, relieving the two.

"As long as she didn't put any of that nasty meat, I'm down!" Beast Boy exclaimed, rubbing his hands together and looking at his metallic friend expectantly. Cyborg, gave him a sideways glance, offering a quick, lopsided smile, before redirecting his attention back to the girls.

Strange, a comment such as that would've normally ignited a light-hearted banter between the two. Yet, our half-robot friend seems dissuaded by the remark, and Beast Boy had noticed this also. The young mutant couldn't help but stare at his friend with a puzzled expression, expecting a better response. Just then, there was a 'ding' that resounded throughout the room, and starfire immediately jumped out of her chair and flew at full speed towards the oven. She pulled out a large pan from the machine, exposing a pizza divided into five different sections.

"Looks great, Star." Robin commented as she set the pan down onto the center of the table. Starfire giggled before floating back into her seat. Without another word, the group of heroes dug into their meal, picking out the pizza that best suited their tastes. As everyone's bellies became stuffed, the awkward atmosphere began to vanish and they were all having idle conversations with each other. Still, Cyborg refused to make eye contact with Robin and Beast Boy, and although everyone knew this, no one dared to mention this uncanniness.

"Have you found the Magic Man?" Starfire quipped.

"Sadly no," Robin sighed with a disgruntled expression on his face. "But Beast Boy did point out something interesting." Beast Boy raised an eyebrow before realization dawned on him and his eyes widen. He sprang up to his feet, not knowing that the force of his motion would force Robin to stand also. The Boy Wonder scowled at him, and Beast Boy offered a small, goofy grin as atonement.

"Sorry." He squeaked. Robin simply rolled his eyes under his mask, and crossed his arms. Seeing this, Beast Boy decided to continue. "Get this, dudes. What if the spell Magic Man put on us wasn't actually a spell?" Even Cyborg had to give Beast Boy a questioning stare as the green teen stood proudly in front of the group. There was a moment of silence as Beast Boy waited to be showered with praise, which never occurred.

"Man, what are you talking about?" Cyborg spewed, crossing his arms. Beast Boy blinked, finally noticing that no one, besides Robin, had picked up on what he was getting at.

"Hear me out. Okay, so Raven wasn't able to break the spell even with her spooky ghost powers, right? Well, what if the spell was never meant to be broken in the first place? What if it was-"

"-a curse." Raven suddenly breathed, eyes growing wide. Beast Boy pouted, crossing his arm childishly.

"You stole my thunder!" The green lad cried, plopping back onto his chair. Raven simply ignored his antics.

"I still do not understand. Is there not a difference?" Starfire asked, scratching her head.

"Do you know the story Sleeping Beauty? It's kind of like that. When the evil which casted the curse, there was no way to stop it from happening, even with three magical fairies at the princess's side. There was only one way to break the curse-"

"-true love's kiss." Cyborg finished, looking at the two bounded boys. Suddenly, all eyes were on them, and they paled on sight. They slowly turned to one another, both wide-eyed and becoming flustered. Then, as if a panic button went off in their heads, they both frantically scooted as far away from each other as the spell would allow, which wasn't that far to begin with.

"No way am I kissing him!" Beast Boy cried out in disgust.

"I don't want to kiss you either!" Robin yelled, upturning his nose.

"His breath probably smells like onions!" Beast Boy cried, sticking out his tongue at his clad leader. Robin guffawed, obviously offended.

"At least I don't smell like moldy cheese!" Robin retorted. Before anyone could fathom it, the two were screaming insults at each other at the top of their lungs, each trying to outdo how disgusted they were of each other. After a few minutes of constant yelling, Raven had had enough, and slap a black band around their mouths, leaving them speechless.

"No one said you had to kiss one another." She seethed between her teeth. "I need you idiots to think for once. Why would Magic Man want you two inseparable?" The bands then disappeared from their mouths, and Raven waited expectantly for one of them to answer.

"I think…" Robin said, rubbing his chin in thought. "If I remember correctly, Beast Boy and I were fighting right before he casted a spell." He looked over at the youngster, who nodded in agreement.

"Perhaps he want you two to cease the fighting?" Starfire piped up, raising her index finger.

"That's actually not a bad idea. You two have been arguing a lot lately." Cyborg agreed.

"So what? We're just supposed to become best friends or something?" Beast Boy snapped, crossing his arms. Robin simply rolled his eyes at his childish behavior.

"Yeah, it's not like we have anything in common." Robin stated, annoyance also lacing his dialect.

"Which is exactly why this is our best option." Raven said, standing up. She gave the two wide-eyed boy's a stern glare, as if she were disapproving two children. "From this day onward, until we find a better solution, you two are going to bond and understand each other."

* * *

Is it true? The solution to the curse is to simply get along? Well, dear reader, it is too early to tell now, but the journey to the answer will surely be a ride. As of now, our tied duo had not make any notion to act upon the bonding exercises Starfire had suggested. The two were two stubborn to admit that they did, indeed, had a problem. Currently, the two sat alone in the common room. Beast Boy was very much invested in a videogame, swishing to and fro with the motion of his digitalized vehicle. Robin, however, was anything but invested with the game, and sat on the couch with his arms crossed, lips in a thin line, and a steady, impatient, thumping to his foot.

"Woo hoo!" Beast Boy shouted suddenly, springing up to his feet and throwing his hands in the air, before quickly sitting back and returning to the game. The young leader could feel his eye start to tense, for he was growing impatient. He had been watching the green teen play for some time now, and he couldn't stand just sitting there doing _nothing._ Robin abruptly stood to his feet and moved in front of the green teen, who was trying desperately to see past him.

"What gives, dude?" Beast Boy cried, swinging his head from side to side before finally leaning on his elbow to see the screen. Robin crossed his arms, annoyance lacing his features.

"We're supposed to be looking for Magic Man and you're wasting time by playing video games." Robin growled, moving in front of Beast Boy once more. The youngster pouted, throwing his head back and pausing the game.

"We already did that today!" He whined. "It's my turn to choose what we do now."

"This isn't even productive." Robin agitatedly reasoned . The green teen shot him a look, sitting up straight.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot everything is work, work, work, with you. I thought we supposed to be bonding?" Beast Boy accused. Robin opened his mouth as if to say something, but quickly closed it. As much as he hated to admit it, his younger teammate did have a point. But as leader, he saw no use in doing something as inane as playing video games to gain trust.

"I don't have time for this. We're going." Robin growled, turning around on his feet. He took quick steps forward, satisfied when he heard Beast Boy yelp. However, he found himself unable to move as Beast Boy held onto the back of the couch.

"I haven't even finished my game yet!" Cried the green teen, shooting his leader a glare. Robin frowned deeply, giving a hard tug backwards. As a result, the back of the couch lifted from the ground before falling back with a 'thud'.

"As your leader," Robin growled, still pulling backwards. "I demand you to come."

"Oh, so not you can demand me to do things? Nuh-uh, dude, not going to happen." Beast Boy snapped, holding onto the couch as if his life depended on it. Suddenly, a giant, green gorilla appeared on the couch, replacing the green boy that once stood their. At the leader's shocked expression, the gorilla smirked, and clapped its hands gleefully.

"Are you kidding me, Beast Boy?" Robin shrieked, throwing his foot down. The gorilla nodded his head before letting out something that resembled laughter. Not going down without a fight, Robin began to tug with all his might in hopes to move the massive creature. His feet glided across the floor as he tried to desperately, but he was just too massive to be budged. Even through all the energy he was using, he hadn't moved an inch.

Somewhere along the line, Robin's feet got tangled with in each other, and with a gasp, he was sent crashing to the floor. As Robin slowly got up, he could hear the gorilla getting a hoot out of his misfortune, laughing, clapping, and stomping away. Robin was seething as he stood up and had to refrain himself from tackling the massic animal.

"Alright, Beast Boy, you win." He growled. "What is it going to take to make you stop playing?" Suddenly, instead of a massive gorilla on the couch, the young hero of which we know as Beast Boy appeared. He was tapping his chin lightly, seemingly savoring the moment. Then he turned to his leader with a devious smile. Picking up a spare controller, he held it up to his leader, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"If you beat me we can do whatever you want for the rest of the day." Beast Boy sang, shaking the controller. Robin contemplated this preposition and decided that it seemed fair. And despite him not playing video games very often, he wasn't terrible. He was sure he'd be able to beat him the first round.

"Deal." Robin growled, snatching the controller from the teens hands. Beast Boy smiled triumphantly as his leader took a seat beside him, staring irritably at the screen.

The first round did not go anywhere that Robin had expected. The green teen had beaten him by a landslide and had been gloating profusely. Now, Robin was never one to back-down, especially when it came to coming in first. His competitive spirit was getting the better of him, and before long they were playing game after game. It had gotten to the point that Beast Boy was becoming tired of playing, and was putting little enthusiasm into the game.

"Ugh, Robin. Let's call it quits, we've been playing for _hours_." Beast Boy sighed, pausing the game and leaning back on the couch. Robin looked at him incredulously, surprised that the green teen could even utter such a thing.

"No way! I still have to beat you. That was the deal, right?" Robin cried. Beast Boy groaned, rolling over on the couch.

"You know, the thing about games are...you can pick them up at anytime. If you want we can finish this tomorrow, but come on dude, it's late." Robin turned to the windows at his words, and was surprised to see that it was completely dark outside. Had they really spent so much time playing video games? Robin couldn't quite believe it.

"What time is it?" He asked, surprised. Beast Boy lazily looked up at the digital clock on the nearby coffee table.

"Ten." He answered, yawning. The leader blinked, astonished. Never had the young hero spent that much time playing video games. It had to had been at least five hours. He wondered why nobody had interrupted them whilst they were playing. Normally their teammates would be walking in and out of the common, but no one had. Then he realized...

They had been bonding.

Although subconsciously, the duo were having a friendly competition. They were laughing together, giving light insults, and even giving pointers to each other. It had been a long time since the two had done something as such, and the feeling was almost foreign. But here they were, both exhausted and content from spending so much time together.

"Yeah," Robin finally agreed, standing up and stretching. "We should probably get some-" As he looked down, he noticed his teammate already fast asleep, snoring softly. It was understandable though, it had been a long day for the both of them. Sighing, Robin squatted down, and gently shook the teen. He groaned, but didn't dare open his eyes.

"Hey, can you turn into a cat or something?" Robin whispered gently. Although half asleep, Beast Boy nodded. A mere milliseconds later, a green kitten was laying before Robin. Robin let out a small smile and gently scooped the kitten into his arms. The kitten immediately nuzzled into his chest, letting out a purr.

Robin had to refrain himself from blushing as he carried the purring kitten to his room for a much needed rest.

 **Hey guy's, I just wanted to say I love reading your comments! I really appreciate them!**

 **So the boy's are somewhat bonding, but we'll see how long that'll last!**

 **As always, please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

"I can't believe Star's making us do this." Beast Boy whined, throwing on a sweatshirt.

Robin couldn't quite believe it himself, but he would never allow himself to show such despondency. Our perky alien friend had subjected herself to ensure that her friends would get along; and that meant forcing them to follow her strict bonding schedule. She had informed them of this at the early wakes of the morning, nearly scaring Beast Boy half to death with her cheers of excitement. Today, their task was to go out of the tower and find something in town that they both would enjoy. Of course, we had already established that their similarities, as of now, were faint.

The leader of our infamous squad of heroes currently had his back turned towards his teammate. Starfire had urged them to explore the town as normal civilians; which consisted of them wearing "civilian clothing". Robin was standing with a quite annoyed expression on his face as he waited for the changeling to swap his clothing. Finally, the changeling cleared his throat, announcing he was done.

Spinning on his heel, Robin turned to meet his friend, prepared to declare that they should get going when he noticed his odd choice of wardrobe. In comparison to his outfit, Beast Boy looked as if he was prepared for a snowstorm of some sorts. Whereas our usually caped crusader wore shorts and a plain muscle-tee, Beast Boy had covered himself from head to toe in fabrics. He had on dark skinny jeans, an oversized sweatshirt which stifled around his waist, and a baseball cap over his head. On top of that, he still wore his gloves and boxy sneakers.

"Um...Beast Boy? You do realize it's almost 95 degrees outside?" Robin questioned, raising an eyebrow underneath his tinted shades. The youngster's eyes widened, as if shocked to hear such a lude statement. He then looked down, shuffling on his feet slightly.

"Huh? Yeah, I'll be fine." He reassured with a bit of apprehension. "Let's go." He quickly stated, briskly shuffling towards the door. Robin wordlessly followed behind, keeping a cautious eye on the unusual shape shifter. As they were walking towards the elevator, Beast Boy kept his head down and his hands stuffed inside his pocket. It stroke the young detective as odd that his usually fervent teammate seemed anything but excited.

They entered the common room where their friends were already waiting for them. They were hovering over the island in a deep conversation before their arrival. As soon as they heard the door swished open, however, they had stopped. Starfire smiled brightly upon seeing the duo in normal street clothes, clasping her hands together gleefully as they made their way over to the group.

"Sup, dudes?" Beast Boy asked. He then looked his teammates up and down, noticing that none of them were wearing regular clothing. "Wait, are you guy's not coming with?" He squeaked. Although he knew the only reason they were going out of the tower was to bond with Robin, he never fathomed he would be completely alone with him.

"Of course, how else would you two learn to get along without supervision?" Raven snapped.

"This is ridiculous," Robin groaned, crossing his arms stubbornly. "Instead of looking for the villain who did this to us, we're going on a...a playdate!" Robin seethed, throwing up his hands dramatically.

"Chill, man. It's not like we're going to find him anytime soon. Besides, Star thinks this could really work." Cyborg reasoned calmly, shooting the leader a glare. Robin huffed but didn't argue his point any longer.

"There are three rules of which I have written out for you." Starfire stated, gliding up into the air with a sheet of paper in her hands. "The first rule; you must spend the whole day with each other."

"As if we had the choice." Robin muttered under his breath, earning another glare from Raven.

"Rule two: you cannot use gadgets or powers unless it is the utmost emergency." She continued, eyeing the two dangerously before looking back down at the paper. "And lastly," She began, folding the paper and looking up at the two before gracing them with a warm smile. "Have fun."

"Alright," Cyborg exclaimed, clasping his hands together dramatically. "Let's hit the road!"

…

The car ride to our heroes destination was one of discomfit. Starfire and Raven had decided to stay at the tower, leaving the males of the group to venture out into society. Beast Boy and Robin sat in the backseat, side by side, both wearing a less than amused expression. Occasionally, Cyborg would cautiously look back at them through the rearview mirror. Lo and behold, our metallic friend was too overwrought by his comrades situation to lighten the mood. And at the position he had found them in just the previous day, well, who could blame him?

"Any ideas on where I should drop y'all off?" Cyborg queried after clearing his throat. He could hear Robin let out a snort, and Beast Boy shift uncomfortably in his seat. The half-robot sighed. He knew better than anyone why Beast Boy would act so hesitant towards going out in public, but Robin was not making the situation any better. Slowly, the vehicle slowed to a stop near a parking meter, announcing it was time for the tied duo to venture out alone. They both silently made their way out of the parked car, standing beside the driver's door as Cyborg rolled the window down.

"Alright guys, just remember that this isn't a punishment." Cyborg stated, looking between the less-than-ecstatic teens. "Just try to find something you both enjoy. If there's trouble, you know who to call." With that last statement, Cyborg pulled off, leaving the duo stranded in the middle of the bustling streets of downtown Jump City.

Robin let out a long, drawn out sigh as he watched the car fade away into the distance. He knew he shouldn't be feeling angered that Cyborg had left them all alone in the middle of the city, his teammates had forewarned them about this, after all .Still, he could feel the rush of anger start to boil in the pit his belly. True, he and Beast Boy did not always meet eye to eye, but the idea of them bonding to solve the root of their problem was just...just preposterous! It wasn't as if they were clawing at each other's throats every waking moment of the day; they had survived nearly a whole week glued together. What more could they possibly want?

At that moment, Robin took a glance over at his companion to observe his demeanor. Currently, he had his hands pushed deep inside his pockets, and his shoulders were lowered to the point that he looked nothing but of a sack. He so desperately wished he knew what expression the young boy was wearing, but his hood was over his head, casting a shadowed that rivaled Raven's.

Of course, this struck our masked leader as odd, but Beast Boy was already such a strange creature that, for the moment being, he thought nothing of it.

"Have you decided what we're going to do?" Robin questioned unceremoniously, a bit more roughly than he intended. The abrupt sound made Beast Boy jump, and with wide eyes, he looked up at his leader with a quick shake of the head.

"Uh...nah dude. I'm down for whatever." He nervously chuckled, sporting a huge, cheshire grin. Robin could've rolled his eyes, but he refrained. He quickly scanned their surroundings. A few stores and boutiques encircled them, as well as a few family owned restaurants, however, none of which caught the young crusaders eyes.

"We could just walk around." Robin finally suggested. Beast Boy silently nodded in agreement, seemingly stuffing is hands deeper into his pockets and keeping his head down as they began to aimlessly walk through the city.

Their stroll was a silent one, neither of them knowing how, or _wanting,_ to start a conversation. As if them being alone, unarmed, in the middle of Jump City, was not bad enough, people seemed to immediately recognize them as the heroes they were. Even though they weren't in their costumes, people began to indiscreetly murmur things to each other as they walked by.

Robin grumbled something under his breath as he heard two girls squeal as they progressed. He looked over to Beast Boy for the first time in at least thirty minutes to catch his reaction. Currently, the young changeling was desperately trying to cover his face as discreetly as he could without seeming too obvious. However, this meant Beast boy was facing Robin, giving the leader a clear view of his panic-stricken face.

They were heading into one of the more busier sides of the city, and Robin could practically feel the anxiety oozing out of Beast Boy. Without a word, and with a roll of his eyes, he grabbed onto his teammates bicep and began pulling him into a nearby building. To his utmost surprise, the young changeling did not get so much as a yelp as he dragged him into the building. In fact, he did not so much as flinch.

A shrill bell rang as they walked through the door, announcing the two boys arrival. Robin was thankful he had chosen a place that hardly had any customers. Actually, there appeared to be no one in the store. Antiques and knick knacks littered the shelves and every corner of the room. Some chandeliers hung from the ceilings, while porcelain dolls sat stoic on the floor. A cold draft caused both of them to shiver as they ventured further into the store.

"Why'd we come in here?" The green mutant mumbled, hugging himself tightly as they passed a jar of what appeared to be eyeballs. "This place is giving me the creeps."

"Because," Robin said, picking up a, what he hoped to be, fake skull. "You looked like you were about to pass out. Must be all those clothes you got on." If Robin had decided to look over at his binded companion, he would've saw the boy's eyes widened and a slight jolt to his body. However, dear reader, our fearless leader tends to be a bit clueless when it comes to other's emotions, and has failed to notice this crucial detail.

"I'm fine." Beast Boy grumbled, following closely behind his leader.

"I'm serious Beast Boy. You may get a heat stroke if you don't take off some of those clothes." Robin said, whirling around to meet his teammate. His concern was overshadowed by his tone of annoyance, resulting in Beast Boy crossing his arms and cocking his hip slightly to the side.

"I said I'm fine." Beast Boy repeated, this time more lowly and a bit more affirmation in his tone. The elder stared at him long and hard, as if searching for a sign that what he said was some form of a sick joke. However, the young changeling just glared back at him, silently challenging him to question him any further.

Robin opened his mouth to perhaps say a snide comment, when, alas, another gust of cold air swept across the room, even stronger than before. The two nearly jumped out of their skins as a loud screech echoed throughout the building, and a bird circled them thrice times before landing on a chandelier above.

"Gretchen!" The parrot screamed, turning his head so that he was facing the two spooked teens. "You have company!" It cooed in a harmonically way.

"I think we should go." Robin stated in a hushed tone, earning a quick nod of agreement from his companion. However, before either of them could make a move, a woman appeared in front of them, seemingly out of thin air.

Beast Boy let out a petrified scream while Robin reached for a weapon he soon realized he did not possess. He mentally cursed himself for allowing Starfire to take his weapons away from him.

"You wish help from me?" The woman cooed in a thick accent that, at the moment, neither of them could name. She eyed them with her pale, gray eyes, scanning them up and down before a knowing smile graced her features.

"We were, uh, actually about to leave." Beast boy said, pointing towards the door. The strange woman, Gretchen the presumed, then cocked her head to the sighed, tisking softly. She began slowly circling around the tied duo, taking in every detail of their body. Even though the strange woman did not pose an immediate threat to them, they made sure to keep a watchful eye as she examined them.

"You do not wish help of me?" She asked, in mock hurt. "Not even with curse?" She hummed. At this, the boys instantly perked up, eyeing the woman as she stopped once more in front of them with a raised eyebrow.

"How do you know about the curse?" Robin asked suspiciously.

"Your aura's," She speculated, placing a hand on either of their cheek, before closing her eyes. "They tell me of great distress. Yes, I can feel it washing off of each of you."

Beast Boy was the first to back away from the woman's grasp, placing a hand on the flesh that she had touched. He could still feel her cold, bony hands there, as if it had permanently left its remains on his skin. Robin quickly did the same, glowering at the woman. She threw up her hands in defense, giving them another curt smile.

"How are you supposed to help us?" Robin questioned.

"Dude!" Beast Boy screeched, pulling him aside so that they could talk. Beast Boy gave our leader a look of bewilderment, laced with betrayal. "You're not seriously considering this, are you? I mean, look at her. You can't tell me she doesn't look suspicious. I don't think this is what Star meant by spending the day together." He quietly hissed, scolding the elder for his inquiry.

"If you haven't noticed, _dude,_ we're not any closer to getting out of this mess than when we started. Maybe she has the answers we need to break this spell." Robin growled back.

"My window is closing." The woman piped up, clicking her tongue irritably.

"No." Beast Boy deadpanned to Robin with a slight begging look to his eyes. "No way." Beast Boy held his stare for a long time, wishing he could see pass that stupid mask and see just what his eyes were expressing. For a second, Robin's body soften in a way that it looked like he may have just swayed his leader's opinion. But at the last second, he gave the changeling an apologetic look, turning to face the woman.

"We're in." Robin stated, to which the woman grinned. Beast Boy's mouth dropped before he gave Robin a spiteful glare. Robin chose to ignore this.

"Excellent! Follow me." She grinned with a clap of her hands. She began walking towards the back of the store, beckoning for them to follow. Beast Boy angrily crossed his arms as they followed the woman through a back door. The parrot squawked above them, landing on the woman's shoulder as she took a seat at a table, a crystal ball gleaming in front of her. "Please, sit." She motioned the two lads to do in front of her.

They both took a seat across from her, watching expectantly as she waved her hands around the ball. She closed her eyes, humming slightly. The parrot on her shoulder bopped from side to side along with her tune, keeping a watchful eye on his audience.

"I see." The woman sighed, slowly opening her eyes

"What is it?" Robin asked, scooting up closer in anticipation.

"This spell is very powerful...centuries old. It was used to bind two enemies together. The goal was to resolve problems, but often times the victims would kill each other. After so many deaths, the spell was hidden, never to be used again." She concluded.

"But Magic Man used it on us. How? Why?" Robin questioned urgently.

"I know not how this Magic Man got his hands on this spell, but I know why. You two are so different, yet so much the same. You must learn to find balance."

"We've been getting better though." The leader almost whined. "What else are we supposed to do?"

"This may be true, but you do not see each other as equal. Your friend did not want to come meet here, yes?" At this, Beast Boy perked up, giving his leader a quick glance before crossing his arms. Robin seemed shocked by the accusation, still, he could not deny the fact. He nodded. "See? Even though you said yes, he said no. Just because you are leader does not mean you have total control, hm?"

"I-I understand." Robin said, bowing his head.

"And you," She suddenly yelled, pointing a finger at Beast Boy. "Stop covering everything with joke. You can't solve problems with joke. Talk to each other. Learn from each other. This may not break curse, but it will take you to right direction. Dig down deep within yourselves, and find what is causing root of your problems. Don't push that knowledge away."

Beast Boy let out a long sigh before slowly shaking his head, casting his eyes away from her stare.

"Thank you, for everything." Robin said standing up, Beast Boy following after. "What do we owe you?"

"No no, I do not charge. But, if you bring more news to my shop, that will be great. I'm lacking customers these days." She sighed. Robin nodded in understanding, mentally noting her request.

The two lads exited the now barron store with each their own thoughts on their minds. Neither of them spoke as they tried to figure out just exactly what it was they were to do to break the curse. Now, dear reader, don't think that we are any closer to finding the solution. No, this is just a small step ahead to a long journey. Still, it gave the boys hope, and with that hope, they could possibly find solace within each other.

"Are you hungry?" Robin suddenly asked as they were nearing a cafe. Beast Boy looked up to meet his leader, the shade from his hat making it hard to pinpoint his expression. He stuffed his hands deeper into his pocket, glancing at the nearing restaurant, before giving his leader a feeble shrug.

The leader took this as a yes, and lead them to the dimly lit cafe. It was fairly busy. Most of the booths had been taken and there was quite a line at the register. They walked side by side to the back of the line, a new aura of discomfit washing over them as they realized people were starting to notice who they were. Robin cleared his throat.

"So I uh- never been here before," He asked, breaking the silence. He was trying to distract himself from the all too obvious stares they were receiving, but Beast Boy did not seem at all interested at starting a conversation. He raised an eyebrow, even now more difficult to see due to the dim lighting of the restaurant. "Have you?"

"No." Beast Boy deadpanned, stuffing his hands into his hoodie. Robin frowned at Beast Boy's lack of interest. The young shapeshifter had been acting cold towards him this whole day, and Robin couldn't quite place what he had done for this to happen. It was starting to get on the young hero's nerve.

"They could use a little more light, don't you think?" Robin tried once again. He watched Beast Boy let out a sigh before shrugging.

"It's nice." The changeling monotonously stated. "I like it dark." Robin for a moment thought that Beast Boy must have hit his head on something. How could someone so full of light, loved being in the center of attention, like to be in a place where you could barely see your hand in front of your face? It struck our leader as odd, yes, and usually he would pressure Beast Boy into talking about whatever was going on, but he remembered Gretchen's words of control and decided against it. Beast Boy would just have to come out on his own.

They were soon in front of the cashier and ordered their respective foods. Robin paid for both of them before Beast Boy had the chance to object. After they received their food, they sat at a corner booth in the restaurant, hoping that it would lessen the attention they were receiving.

Beast Boy silently nibbled at his peanut butter and jelly sandwich while Robin sipped on his coffee. From time to time, Robin would glance at Beast Boy, who kept his head down and face covered as he ate. After five minutes of not having any words shared between them, he let out a frustrated sigh, setting down his coffee.

"Did I do something to you?" He questioned, the statement making his teammate jump at the accusation.

"What? No." Beast Boy shot back with a furrow of his brow, seemingly shocked by the accusation.

"Then why does it seem like you don't want to talk to me? And I know you're burning up, but you won't take off any of those clothes. What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong. I said it's not you so drop it." Beast Boy snapped back, obviously frustrated.

"As leader, it's my job to know if something is wrong with my teammates." Robin reasoned, trying not to let his growing anger slip through his teeth.

"As leader, you should know when to back off." Beast Boy growled, slanting his eyes and crossing his arms. "God Robin, you can't choose when and when you're not going to care." This comment made Robin's blood boil and he didn't even realize when his voice started to raise.

"What do you mean when I choose to care? It's not my fault you don't care about things other than your stupid jokes and pranks. How am I supposed to know what's going on with you if you don't tell me?" His voice was above an inside voice.

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe there was a reason for this? Maybe because the only thing you seem to care about is your stupid image and your ego? Because you're a control freak who would rather point the blame on me and my personality than figure out the root of the problem?" Beast Boy yelled back

And oh, did Robin find himself lost for words at this accusation. He was about to defend himself, say that wasn't true, but deep down, Robin knew he was right. Making matters worse, Beast Boy had voiced his opinion loud enough for the whole restaurant to hear. It had gone completely silent, and Robin could practically feel their stares burning a hole in the back of his head. What right did Beast Boy have to say things like that when all he was doing was trying to help?

They held their angry glares for what seems like eons, either of them wanting to be shown as the weaker and backing down. That is, until, someone approached them.

"Excuse me." A girl said, tapping Robin from behind. They both turned to meet the voice. It belonged to a pretty blonde girl who looked to be around their age. She appeared to be unfazed by their outburst and casted them a beautiful smile. "You're Robin and Beast Boy right?"

Choosing to ignore his teammate, Robin turned his gaze to the girl, giving her a friendly smile.

"Yes, why do you ask?" Asked Robin. Beast boy raised his eyebrow and folded his arms, quite off put that the girl had clearly interrupted such a serious moment.

"Well," She said, nodding her head back to a group of people behind her, who waved. "My friends and I are having a beach party and we wanted to know if you two would be interested." She then reached over and ran her hand over Robin's bicep, slightly biting her lips. "It'll be a lot of fun."

At that moment, Beast Boy's eyes widen, looking between the girl and his leader beside him. Seeing how he was contemplating the ordeal, he nudged Robin to get his attention. There was a pleading look in his eyes, as if begging to have mercy on him. Our leader saw this, yes, and knew that for some reason Beast Boy was feeling uneasy about being out in public, but he was still too angry at their argument to care. Maybe he should just prove his green friend right. Maybe he just shouldn't care.

He ignored his friend, giving the girl a charming smile.

"We'll be glad to."

And that, dear reader, shattered Beast Boy's heart.

* * *

 **Where do I begin?**

 **So first of all, I'm not dead, and neither is this story. Im so sorry for this super long hiatus, a lot has been going on. Besides months of writer's block, I've been really busy trying to finish up senior year with everything that needs to be done and getting things ready for college. I also have a job now that I work at pretty much every day. Needless to say, these are not very good excuses and if anyone is still tempted to read this story then I greatly appreciate you!**

 **I've probably written and re-written this chapter 100 times. I don't know why, but this chapter was really hard to write and this was only half of what I had planned for this chapter. But I wanted to get something out and it was already getting kind of long, so I decided to break it into two parts. I swear, it won't take me another 8+ months to update!**

 **I now know where I want to take this story, and I'm thinking it'll have around 15 chapters. Be prepared for a lot of drama!**

 **I hope I haven't lost all the supporters I've had, and if I did it's totally my fault. I would love to get some feedback! Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

Beast Boy was absolutely miserable.

Currently, he sat wedged in the middle of the backseat between Robin and some jock whom had coined the named "Pebble" ; though he was anything but. Pebble was everything you'd expect from a jock; loud, obnoxious, big-headed….might I go on? To Beast Boy's luck, Pebble had found quite a liking to him, talking his ear off no matter how much the young changeling tried to express his disinterest. It wasn't as if Pebble was a bad guy, per se, but our green hero was still intolerably angry at his said leader.

Beast Boy casted his eyes away from the still babbling Pebble to glance over at the person glued to his side. He had a large smile on his face as he chatted idly with the girl who had invited them to the beach party; Candy was her name. Since Robin accepted her request, he and Candy seemed to have everything in common, resulting in a never ending conversation. There was an obvious attraction between the two, at least on Candy's side. Beast Boy could never quite pinpoint what Robin's intentions were.

Whatever they were, it made the changeling's stomach churn with spite, with just the slightest pinch of sorrow. But he masked it well, and in turn, solemnly crossed his arms and returned to the conversation with Pebble, trying to hide his discomfit the best he could.

"Oh, we're here!" Candy suddenly exclaimed as they pulled into the parking lot. "Brad, did you bring the cooler?" She asked the driver.

"Of course I did. It wouldn't be a party without it." He sighed, putting the vehicle in park. Candy grinned and turned towards the boys in the back, her eyes settling on Robin for a long moment before switching to Beast Boy.

"It's so cool that you guys came." She said merrily, forcing Beast Boy to resist the urge of rolling his eyes. "My friends are gonna freak!"

"It's no big deal." The boy wonder concluded, opening the car door. He then turned back to Candy, and if he weren't wearing a mask, Beast Boy was sure he winked after what he said next. "Especially since I'm accompanied by someone so pretty."

Oh, was the sight on that young girls face a sight to behold! I fear a tomato would have had a run for its money after how red she turned at the compliment. However, none could compare to our green companion quite literally in the middle of their love fest. It looked as if he were resisting the urge to spew his lunch.

The crew all exited the vehicle and began their trek over to the sandy shores of Jump City Beach. Candy and Robin were practically glued at the hip as they walked; which was slightly ironic since he was already binded quite well to someone else. Keeping his head ducked low and hood over his head, Beast Boy glanced from side to side, observing the various people they walked past. People seemed to recognize them almost instantly, and were even more mesmerized by their entourage of common civilians.

"We're like, celebrities." Pebble chanted, giving a passerby a high five. Beast Boy rolled his eyes at the comment, but in a sense, it was true. People were pulling out their cameras and parting like the red sea just to get a glimpse of them. All the attention made the young changeling want to turn into a turtle and hide in its shell for all of eternity.

As they neared the shore, a faint flare of music drifted through the air. The loud bass and people yelling the same words to the song told Beast Boy what kind of party this was going to be. He glanced over at his leader, knowing that if anyone was against parties, it would be him. However, our leader had his arm slung around Candy's waist, smiling and laughing at her jokes.

He never laughed at Beast Boy's jokes.

They entered the gates of the party, and immediately cheers echoed across the shores of the beach. Torches and fire pits were already lit, people were building sandcastles and burying each other in the sand, others were dancing and drinking something that surely was not the average soda. Beast Boy's stomach churned with nervousness, and he tried to shrink as much as he could from the ongoing stares.

"Let's dance!" Candy suddenly cried, pulling robbing forward, and in turn, Beast Boy.

"No way, I'm not dancing." Beast Boy grunted, putting his feet into place. The two of the gave him incredulous stares, but Beast Boy couldn't quite find the will to care. He had already been forced to go out in public alone with Robin, forced to talk to that crazy witch lady, forced to a party; there was no way he would be forced to dance.

"But you love dancing." Robin argued. The green teen rolled his eyes and folded his arms, giving him a hard glare.

"I'm not going." He restated firmly.

"Well that's fine," Candy said, looking between them both, who had yet to break eye contact. "Robin and I can just go. I'm sure Pebble would love to hang out with you." Beast Boy snorted, looking between her and Robin with a knowing smile.

"Oh, you haven't told her yet?" Beast Boy chuckled.

"Told me what?" Candy asked, now looking slightly upset. She placed a hand on her hip, glaring up at our cornered leader. Robin sighed, pitching the bridge of his nose.

"A villain cured us a few days ago. We're temporarily inseparable." He grumbled, quite embarrassingly.

"So, like, you guys are glued together?" She gasped, dumbfounded, looking between the two heroes beside her.

"Yeah, so if I don't want to dance, we're not gonna." Beast Boy snapped, earning a glare from his leader.

"No it's fine," Candy said with a smile. "I'm sure we can find something else to do."

For a short time, Beast Boy thought he had won. He managed to avoid the most embarrassing third wheel experience known to man. That, and he steered away from a huge mass of people. All seemed well. They had settled on sitting around a fire pit on wooden logs. Beast Boy thought that this wasn't such a bad idea; they were all conversing in a manner that was quite humorous, and even he was starting to have a good time. That is until Robin and Candy veered onto their own conversation, and twenty minutes later they intensely making out.

Beast Boy sat hunched over with his head in his hands and a look of disgust on his face. He was trying desperately to ignore the sounds of the couple beside him, and cursed under his breath every time he had to push Robin off of him. They had been going at it for a good twenty minutes, and Beast Boy wasn't quite sure how they were managing to still find breath at this point.

"Yo, Beast Boy!" Shouted a distant voice. Beast Boy barely glanced up to meet the eyes of Pebble standing above him. He glanced over at the still kissing couple and chuckled, shaking his head. "Some third-wheeling you got going on there."

"Yeah, well, I don't have much of a choice." Beast Boy grumbled.

"You're too tight, you need to let loose." Pebble said, taking a seat beside the green teen. Beast Boy raised an eyebrow as he dug in his jacket, eyes widening as he pulled out a flask. "Want some?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Beast Boy had never drank before. The closest he ever got to it was sparkling grape juice. Quite frankly, he didn't intend to start for many years. He was about to deny the offer when he felt a tight grip on his forearm.

"Beast Boy, do you know what that is?" Robin seethed, giving Beast Boy a hard, yet worried, glare. Even Candy, who still had her arms around Robin's shoulder, had concern written all over her features.

"Relax, it's not spiked or anything." Pebble said, taking a swig out of the steel can. "He looked bored, and I was just bringing a little fun."

"He doesn't drink, sorry." Robin affirmed, glaring at the mass that was pebble.

"Oh, so now you care?" Beast Boy snapped, earning a look of confusion

"What?" Robin gasped. Instead of answering, Beast Boy took the flask from Pebble's hand and chuggled several gulps of the fowl liquid. Everyone watched in shock as he continued to drink until the flask was empty. He set down the flask, feeling woozy. Still, he could feel the anger residing inside him, and he turned towards his leader, who still had shock written all over him.

"You're not," Beast Boy said, letting out a hiccup. "You're not the boss of me. Never were." He then turned towards Pebble, who was grinning from ear to ear. "You have any more?"

"Yeah bro, follow me." He said, standing up. Beast Boy stood up too, silently telling Robin to stand also.

Robin sighed, knowing that now he would have to watch over Beast Boy before he got into trouble. He gave a solemn look to Candy, who nodded understandingly.

"Go," She said with a smile. "It was great to meet you. We should hang out again sometime." She then stood up and walked towards the herd of dancing people, never once looking back. Robin sighed, standing up and shaking his head at his already stumbling friend.

They began walking towards a group of people, all with beers in their hands.

"Hey guys, look who I brought!" Pebble shouted, too witch everyone cheered. He dug inside a nearby cooler and pulled out a bottle of beer, handing it over to the green Boy quickly took it, opening it and drowning his body with the brown liquid. The leader could only watch in astonishment and disappointment as his friend chugged the liquid, forming a small circle around them as people chanted his name.

Once he was finished he threw the bottle on the ground, throwing up his hands in accomplishment.

"You guys want to...to see me do another?" Beast Boy shouted out into the crowd, earning cheers of encouragement.

"That's enough." Robin hissed into his ear, grabbing him by the wrist.

"You're not my dad."Beast Boy barked back.

"You're drinking too many too fast." Robin hammered on.

"Why don't you just go make out with your girlfriend?" Argued Beast Boy, his speech becoming more slurred by the second.

"Come on, man, he's just having some fun." Pebble said, slinging his arms around Beast Boy's shoulder.

"I suggest you get out the way." Robin growled.

"Or what?" Pebble said, taking a step forward. Robin held his position, looking up Pebble who had no right over Beast Boy's actions.

"Aw," Beast Boy sighed, letting out a giggle. "You guys are fighting over little ol' me?" He sanged. Robin looked back over to Beast Boy and was surprised to see he had somehow found yet another bottle and was gulping it down. Robin snatched the bottle from his hands, shoving it in the chest of Pebble.

"We're leaving." He growled to Pebble, grabbing Beast Boy again and pushing him through the crowd. Beast Boy was arguing with him, but Robin kept his eyes forward, ignoring his drunk friend.

"Robin…" Beast Boy whined, slowing down. "Why are we running? I-I'm having fun!" Beast Boy cried.

"I'm calling the other titans, and we're going home."

"I don't wanna." He whined even louder.

"I don't care." The leader stated. At this Beast Boy yanked his hand away, glaring at Robin.'

"That's the thing, you never care! You-you never listen to m-me. I didn't want to c-come here, but you didn't care! You just wanted to hook up with s-stupid Candy!" Beast Boy yelled, leaving Robin at loss for words. "Just leave me alone."

"Beast Boy, we can talk about this later. Let's go home." Robin reasoned softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. He shrugged him off, shaking his head.

"I-I'm gonna do what I want to do now." Beast Boy growled. Just then Pebble walked up, patting Beast Boy on the back.

"Some of my friends really want to see a tiger, you think you could show us?" Pebble asked, casting Robin a lopsided grin.

"Yeah!" Beast Boy grinned, stumbling slightly.

"Beast Boy, you're in no position to shift. You're not even wearing your uniform." Robin hissed, grabbing his friend once more, only to be pushed away.

"What's your problem?" Pebble asked after Robin regained his balance. Robin pushed him back, anger and annoyance starting to take over.

"My problem is that Beast Boy can't transform without his suit. Unless you want to be the one to pick up his torn clothes." Robin seethed. "He's my friend so leave us alone."

"Seems to me like you haven't been a very good friend. Right BB?" Pebble snorted. At this point they were standing face to face, and a crowd had formed around them to see what all the commotion was about. "Why don't you just go on home. I'll take care of your-"

Robin could no longer hold in his anger punched the Pebble right in the jaw. Beast Boy gasped as Robin launched himself on the brute, causing both of them to fall onto the ground. Beast Boy quickly scrambled up, trying to desperately to pull Robin off, who was still throwing his fist at the unsuspecting victim.

"Robin stop!" Beast Boy cried, noticing as everyone around them had objected to pulling out their phones instead of stopping the fight. Seeing no other solution, Beast Boy turned into a pterodactyl, grabbing Robin by the shoulders with his talons, and lifted them up into the air and away from the party.

Robin quickly grabbed onto his legs, knowing that he was in no position to fly. He couldn't believe he had lost his temper like that, especially on an average civilian; and for Beast Boy to have to step in in his drunken state was beyond bad. How could he had let things so out of hand? Was he really that bad of a friend?

Beast Boy began to make a descend on the shore, dropping Robin off on the ground before landing none to gracefully himself. Robin quickly rushed to his friends side, who had yet to turn back into his human form.

"Beast Boy I'm," Robin said, sitting down in the sand and watching the waves hit the shore. "I shouldn't have done that." The pterodactyl squawked and fluttered its wings as if to say that much was obvious. Robin glanced over at him, wondering why Beast Boy had yet to turn back to his human state. That's when he realized he couldn't.

Robin blushed, taking off his shirt and holding it in the direction of his friend.

"Here." He offered, looking in the other direction. Beast Boy then turned into a chimpanzee, taking the shirt from his leader. Robin hoped that since he was bigger than his friend, the shirt would cover most of him.

The chimp threw on the shirt, adjusting it slightly before turning back into Beast Boy. He quickly sat down beside Robin, holding his legs close to his chest, trying to his his reddening face.

"Thanks." Beast Boy mumbled.

The two sat in an awkward silence, watching the waves settle into low tide. Robin glanced at Beast Boy, who still had a look of anger on his face, but most of that was masked by his obvious tiredness.

"So," Robin began. "Do you want to tell me why you've been acting strange all day?"

"No," Beast Boy sighed, looking over at Robin with a sad look. "It stupid." Robin raised an eyebrow, telling him to go on. Beast Boy sighed again, looking ahead. "It's just...I hate going out in public."

"But you go out in public all the time with us and never seem to have a problem." Robin countered.

"It's different. When it's all of us in a group, all the attention is not just on me. I mean, Cyborg, Raven, even Starfire all look different from everyone else so when it was just me and you-"

"-You felt like everyone was judging you." Robin stated, putting two and two together. "And that's why you wore all those clothes, right? To hide yourself?" Beast Boy silently nodded in agreement, biting is lip. "You should've said something."

"It's not like you would've listened anyways. You always think that you know best for everyone, but that's not always the case." Beast said quietly.

"I knew that you drinking all that alcohol wasn't the best decision." Robin joked, nudging the green teen slightly. Beast Boy let out a moan, but smiled nonetheless.

"Don't remind me." Beast Boy groaned, letting out a soft chuckle. "I'm never doing that again."

"I really am sorry that I didn't listen to you. I shouldn't have dragged you to all those places if you didn't want to go." Beast Boy looked up at him, shrugging.

"And I'm sorry I've been acting like such a jerk."

"Let's make a deal," Robin said, locking eyes with his friend. "If something is bothering us, we don't hold back on what it is. We listen to what each other has to say, no matter how we may feel about it. Deal?"

"Deal." Beast Boy said with a smile, leaning his head on his leader's shoulder and closing his eyes.

And at that moment, dear reader, our masked hero felt something he couldn't quite describe. Perhaps it was because the moonlight was cascading beautifully on his friends olive skin, making him practically glow. Or that he was able to see up close how uniquely handsome he was from up close. Maybe it was because Beast Boy had fallen asleep so quickly on his shoulder, or that he was somehow once again naked underneath his clothes once again. Whatever the reason was, it gave our young heroes stomach butterflies and his face heat up immensely.

There was a newfound compassion in his eyes, and he wasn't quite sure where this feeling came from. Whatever it was, it lead Robin to gently brush back the teen's messing green hair off his forehead and place a gentle kiss on top of it.

And he hoped and prayed that Beast Boy would be too drunk or asleep to know it happened.

* * *

 **I know y'all are tired of me apologizing so I'm not even going to say it. I just started college and I'm trying to adjust, so pleases give me time to work things out. I'm actually really sorry about this chapter because I know its not my best work (This chapter was originally supposed to have Magic Man come back for a visit but I ended up liking this better). But I did want to get something out to you guys because I know y'all have been waiting.**

 **Thank you guys so much for the support and reviews on this story! It means the world to me. I'm going to try and update the next chapter in the next two weeks, so keep watch! I hope this chapter wasn't too bad to read because I didn't have time to re-edit.**


	7. Chapter 7

_Somewhere far away, in a place unknown, sat a man who was dastardly evil. At least, evil was the label that so many have bestowed upon him; whether it be true or not. But that is besides the point, and another story to tell. The man was currently watching two of his latest subjects (unbeknownst to them) and had a quite peculiar expression on his see, dear reader, although his subjects were slowly moving in the right direction, it was much too slow for the man's likings. They needed a push if they were ever to make some distance._

 _And so, the man sprinkled a bit of powder into the cauldron, watching it fall with the wickedest of smiles. He then leaned back in his chair as he watched the two settle into bed. Oh yes, a push they would get indeed._

 _Now, let us return to our unlucky duo and see how they are fairing, hm?_

* * *

Robin stumbled into the room, supporting a still very drunk Beast Boy. He guided the young changeling to his bed, and upon feeling the softness of the mattress, Beast Boy crashed onto it, letting out a sigh of pleasure. The young leader rolled his eyes and shook his head with a small, content smile before crawling into bed beside him. He was always near the edge whilst Beast Boy took up the majority of the limited space.

Although knowing it wouldn't be like this in the morning, he tossed the blanket equally onto the both of them before settling down himself underneath the covers. For a moment, he thought it wise to allow himself to take off his mask; if not for a few mere seconds. Usually, he would allow himself in the night to take it off, but with the shapeshifter constantly at his side, he simply never had the chance to. After a few more moments of thinking, he thought it best to leave it on for fear that he would be seen without them.

He then turned over so that his back was facing the changeling, and all he had to stare at was the blank wall in front of him. Slowly, the walls began to darken as sleep started to overcome him until finally, his eyelids fell shut, and he was engulfed in total darkness.

Darkness...

Darkness…

 _Darkness…_

And then there was light in the far distance. He could clearly see it, although it seemed so very far away. All around him was darkness, so much so that he couldn't see even his own hand in front of him. He was also running. From what, he did not know, nor did he tend to find out. The mere aura that the being was projecting was enough for the young lad to know he was not safe.

His footsteps echoed across the empty space, and his labored breathing filled the void in his ears. He was running out of energy, this he knew, but he also knew he could not stop for the danger was far too great to pause and catch his breath. Whatever was behind him, it was closing in nearer and nearer with every step he took.

Robin could hear something whizzing past him, fast enough to cut him if it managed to hit him. He could feel the molecules in the air whisp past his face as he reached desperately for the light. He was far too close to miss the light now, he could almost make out what was on the other side. Just a few more steps, and he'd be safe. However, fate seemed to have a slight loathing for the caped crusader, for something tendril like wrapped around his ankle, forcing him to fall flat onto his face.

He tried desperately to get the strange substance off, but more and more seemed to tie around him with each passing second. Soon, he was unable to move, for the tendrils had engulfed his entire body. No matter how much he kicked, screamed, or bit into the substance, it would not budge. The only thing left uncovered were his eyes, which could only stare dejectedly at the light he was oh-so-close to reaching.

As the last tendril began to cover his eyes, he could make out a dark figure stepping out of the light, and slowly making his way towards him.

And then there was darkness.

* * *

With a sharp inhale, Robin's eyes shot open. He sat up, panting heavily and checking his surroundings. He was in his room, the moonlight casting from the outside allowed him to see that much. Looking beside him, Beast Boy lay perfectly contempt, softly snoring in his sleep.

Realizing that whatever had been chasing him was no longer there, he slowly inhaled and exhaled in an attempt to get his breathing steady. It had all been a dream. He wiped the sweat from his brow, repeating the new mantra over and over again in his head. As his breathing started to slow, and his heartbeat became steady, he decided it was safe to settle back into bed.

Yet, as he closed his eyes and tried to will himself back to sleep, images of those horrid tendrils began rushing through his mind. No matter how much the young hero tried to ignore his increasing heartbeat, his consciousness would not allow him to rest peacefully. And so, he reluctantly opened his sore eyes, staring up into the ceiling.

Usually a dream of distress such as the one our caped crusader just endured was the result of some unforeseen conflict, like a rendezvous with his arch nemesis, Slade. However, no such thing has happened since their encounter with Magic Man just a few days ago; and that was not nearly horrid enough for him to be woken from his slumber. What frightened the boy the most was the mysterious figure stepping out of the shadows.

There was a sudden shift on the bed, causing Robin to turn towards the source. Beast Boy had turned around, so that he was now facing his awoken leader. He had somehow become unceremoniously close to the leader, and Robin could practically feel his breath tickling his face.

At first, Robin was tempted to push his teammate. This was an invasion of his personal space, of course, but something stopped him. Never before had he been this close to his younger companion, nor had he ever seen him so contempt. With his large smile plastered on his face whenever anyone came into contact with him, it was hard to imagine him looking any other way. Seeing him now, in such a vulnerable state, Robin did not see him as anything such.

From the luminescence emitted from the moon, Robin could clearly see each feature of the changeling's face. His green skin seemed to glow and there was not a blemish in sight. With his mouth slightly parted and a soft snore emitted from it, the lad could make out the small fang that protruded from his mouth. His eyebrows were dark and bushy, yet framed his face perfectly, and his eyelashes were longer than he seen on any female. And now that he was taking a closer look at him, he could make out small freckles littering his face.

He was truly breathtaking.

That feeling that he had felt earlier that night suddenly returned, making his cheeks hot and stomach churn in the most unsettling of ways. He didn't think he could ever think such a thing like this, but the fact was undeniable; he was beautiful. As unceremonious as it was to describe a male as such, that was the only word Robin could deliberate to describe his younger companion. He was someone that people would automatically judge as odd or peculiar, with his bizarre skin color and elf-like ears. Robin knew that he was one of those people. But looking at him up close, the moonlight cascading down on him so perfectly, it was hard for the leader to ever see that as true again.

Without thought or consideration of the consequences if the changeling were to wake up, Robin slowly lifted his hand, brushing his fingers delicately across the green boy's cheek, noting of the softness of it. Seeing as how Beast Boy had yet to sense the touch, Robin did it once again, this time caressing his cheek in the palm of his hand. His heart was pounding in anticipating, waiting for the teen to wake from his slumber, yet he never did. The alcohol must have put him in a deep sleep.

Having a newfound confidence, Robin began to slowly stoke his wild green hair back. It slipped between his fingers like water from a wave, soft to the touch. The caped crusader found himself smiling, despite his nerves and reason starting to kick in. This was wrong, he knew, but it was like he couldn't help himself.

A moan had him retracting his hand, however, and Beast Boy turned his back toward the leader, letting out a sigh. Robin found himself staring at his back for a few minutes, too in shock to do anything else. He didn't quite understand what had lead him to become so infatuated with the green teen. Still, he did not dislike the feelings he felt. And if his dream did not keep our young hero awake all night long, dear reader, the thoughts that he had about his teammate surely had.

* * *

"I'm never drinking again." Beast Boy whined, lifting his head slightly. Robin rolled his eyes, handing him a towel and crossing his arms once Beast Boy accepted it.

"I told you you were drinking too much too fast." Robin muttered, casting his eyes away once Beast Boy bent over the toilet once again, spewing out whatever he had eaten the night before. He then looked back down at his hungover friend dejectedly, knowing that the reasoning for such a consumption was partially his fault.

Squatting down beside him, Robin hesitantly placed a hand on his back, rubbing small circles of comfort within it. A few more seconds passed and Beast Boy let out a groan of displeasure. He sat back, wiping his mouth once again, the color totally drained from his face.

"I think I'm done," Beast Boy mewled, leaning his head against Robin's shoulder, causing the leader to tense slightly. "If I throw up anymore I think I might accidentally spit out a lung."

"Well," Robin began, chuckling lightly. "Maybe if you brush your teeth we can go down to the kitchen and get some food. I'm sure Star's dying to hear how our bonding experience went." At this, Beast Boy let out a light giggle that fluttered to the air, causing Robin's cheeks to begin to flare. He cleared his throat, shaking away the feeling and standing up. Offering a hand to the green teen, he was surprised when Beast Boy grinned before taking it, locking eyes with the leader. Robin was sure he felt his heart jump out of his chest.

Five minutes later they were making their way towards the common room, where the rest of the team already resided. Upon their arrival, all eyes were on them.

"G'mornin', dudes." Beast Boy greeted, leading the two of them to the kitchen, immediately opening the refrigerator.

"Um...is Beast Boy okay?" Raven asked, raising an eyebrow and settling down her book.

"He's fine," Robin answered, grabbing an apple from the counter. "He's just a little hungover."

"Wait, BB was drunk? I thought he was just tired. No wonder he was naked when I picked y'all up." Cyborg yelled in surprised, pausing his video game and making his way towards the fastened duo.

"Dude, could you not yell? I have a massive headache right now." Beast Boy groaned, grabbing his soy milk and cereal and placing it on the counter beside Robin. Robin gave him a small smile, handing him a bowl and spoon.

"I suppose my plan for the bonding has failed." Starfire sighed dejectedly, floating across the room to stand with her fellow team members. Robin and Beast Boy exchanged glances.

"I wouldn't say it was a _total_ fail, would you Beast Boy?" Robin inquired with a small smile. Beast Boy looked to be pondering for a moment, tapping his chin slightly with his spoon.

"Nah, I would say we had a pretty fun night. Robin even beat up a civilian, and that was pretty cool." Beast Boy giggled, earning a sharp glare from his glued partner. At this the room erupted with gasps and sounds of shock, and despite his own embarrassment, Robin too found himself giggling along with Beast Boy at the memory and their friends reaction.

After explaining everything that happened the previous day, they were more than happy to take up another one of Starfire's wacky ideas for bonding, much to her amusement. That day she planned for the two to go to the skating rink together, and despite neither of them being quite skilled at the sport, they found themselves having a blast doing so. The following day the duo enjoyed a horror flick movie marathon, binging on junk food and sodas. The next day they trained together by the insistence of Robin that they work out all the calories they had eaten the previous day. However, at some point those plans changed, and Beast Boy had somehow convinced his leader to play a devious plan on their metahuman friend.

All had been great experiences, and their bond had grown stronger each passing day. However, dear readers, there was a slight problem; a dilemma that was slowly eating his leader from the inside out. A reoccuring nightmare had had our fearless leader awake for the majority of the night, causing him to wake up from his night terrors in cold sweat every night. Every night, he lay awake, trying to rid himself of the horrid images of tendrils wrapping around him and suffocating him. Every night the same ominous figure would be the last thing he saw before he was engulfed in darkness.

Waking up in a cold sweat every night with no hopes in going back to sleep was starting to take a toll on the young leader. The only thing that calmed him was seeing the calm face of his sleeping partner. It was strange, the feeling of someone else being your support despite them even knowing; but the young changeling was just that. He could stare for hours, taking in every detail of his face and running delicate fingers through his hair. He knew it was wrong, an invasion of his privacy, but he couldn't help it. Something about the green teen brought him comfort in his nights of terror.

Still, even the best of supports cannot help the human mind that is slowly deteriorating. The lack of sleep was finally taking its toll of the young hero, causing him to become cranky, irrational. and paranoid. It was a shame, truly. I wish I could say that the events that happened the following day was merely a spawn of my own imagination, but alas, I am not that fortunate. It all started fairly normal, as normal as two persons can get while being practically glued at the hip, that is. Beast Boy was always quite the chatterbox, and since he and the boy wonder were getting along so adequately, it was only reasonable to assume that the young lad would be extra talkative. However, being that Robin had not had a good night rest in quite some time, the caped leader found his antics annoying and on the verge of giving him an onset of a major headache. He thought it best to just ignore the changeling, but he was never really one to take a hint.

This little game of cat and mouse carried on well after breakfast and onto their training routine. A few times, the young leader had to resist the urge to snap at him for not taking it seriously before realizing that they never really took their training seriously to begin with. It was usually just a battle to see who could know whom off their feet first. Then there was lunch, where Cyborg and Beast Boy had their infamous argument about tofu and meat. Now, all the young hero wanted to do was sleep. However, the young changeling just couldn't pick up that detail in time.

"Are you listening to me?" Beast Boy's voice suddenly cut through the air like knife, causing Robin to jump and stop rubbing his temples. He looked up to see Beast Boy in front of him, his arms crossed and a worried look across his face.

"What?" Robin said in confusion, picking up a newspaper in hopes to block out the boy standing in front of him.

"I asked what do you want to do later. Star said there's this wicked carnival coming to town today." Beast Boy explained excitedly, nudging the leader teasingly. However, the sudden movement sent the leaders head reeling, and he shot the green teen a nasty look.

"No." He grunted, turning the page of the newspaper.

"No?" Beast Boy repeated, a look of confusion etching across his face. Still, he would not take such a blunt answer without a fight. He sat down beside his leader, giving him a look of concern. "Are you feeling okay?"

" M'fine." He answered plainly, not looking up from his paper. Beast Boy frowned but did not press on, looking down dejectedly at his fingers.

"Okay, um cool...no carnival. It wasn't like I was looking forward to it or anything." He sighed, casting a pouting glance in Robin's direction.

"Good, because we're not going." Robin answered curtly, turning another page. Beast Boy pouted for a moment before a small smile curled around his lips.

"Well how about we-" Beast Boy began, only to be cut off.

"I don't want to do anything with you today, Beast Boy!" Robin snapped, slamming the newspaper down on the coffee table in front of him. The green teen jumped at the sudden notion, casting wide eyes at his leader.

"Dude, what's your problem?" Beast Boy shrieked, angrily glaring at him.

"If you haven't noticed, _dude,_ nothing we're doing is actually helping us break this stupid curse. We're just wasting time!" Robin seethed back. Beast Boy's eyes widened in shock before his eyes lowered dangerously, challenging him.

Just then the remaining members of the titans tower walked into the room. Gasps filled the air as they found their two teammates looking as if they were ready to claw out each others throats. They were all quick to end the tension.

"Yo, what's going on here?" Cyborg yelled, stomping over to the two.

"Robin's being a jerk." Beast Boy huffed, crossing his arms.

"Of course!" Robin cried, shooting up from his seat and throwing his hands in the air. "Of course, everything is my fault now."

"Friend, no one said this was your fault." Starfire tried to reason, clasping her hands together with worry. Robin rolled his eyes beneath his mask crossing his arms.

"Yeah well you guys didn't have to say it." Robin huffed. "I'm tired of being the only one trying to break this curse."

"Hello! What do you think we're trying to do? The whole point of us spending time together is so that we can break the curse." Beast Boy yelled, standing up to face the leader who was glaring daggers at him.

"It feels more like you being your usual annoying self and me having to put up with it." Robin retorted with a growl in his tone.

"Friend Robin, that was not the kind!" Starfire gasped, placing her hands on the also stunned Beast Boy.

"So what? You were just pretending to be my friend? Is that it?" Beast Boy asked quietly, his shoulders slumping slightly. His face had totally dropped and it was at that moment that the leader knew he had messed up. He did not want to upset his friend, he was just frustrated and tired. He opened his mouth to say something along the lines of an apology, but Beast Boy spun around, meeting the eyes of the purple-haired sorceress instead.

"Rae, did you ever find any more of those detachment spells?" He asked. Normally, Raven would rebuke the use of his nickname, but seeing as the tensions were high at the moment, she stopped herself.

"They probably won't work. The last was strongest spell." She answered, shifting eyes between the two boy's warily. "Why?"

"Something's better than nothing, right?" Beast Boy answered with a small smile. His expression then turned malicious, yet he still kept the small smile on his face. "The sooner we break this curse the happier we'll all be."

As the pair of heroes followed the sorceress to her chamber, Robin couldn't help but think he had made a grave mistake.

* * *

 **Hey guys! It didn't take me a whole two months to upload again! yay!**

 **So, things are getting intense, and as many of you have picked up, Robin is starting to develop some feelings for our favorite shapeshifter. I keep dividing up the chapters because if not this story would only have a few more chapter left So expect at least a good 5-6 more chapters of this story!**

 **As always, I love reader yall's reviews, they keep me motivated and I appreciate every single on of them. Also if you haven't, check out some of my other stories. If you're into Voltron Legendary defender I created a story for that, and I also update a highly requested one-shot from friends with benifits!**


	8. Chapter 8

Time seemed to move painfully slow for Robin as the trio trekked the long hallways to the sorceress's room. Not a single word had been said during this time, and a small part of Robin was thankful for that; it gave him time to think about his actions and if he were truly in the wrong for what he previously said.

In truth, what he said had not been a lie. There was no sure sign that these "bonding" events? were getting them any closer to breaking whatever curse Magic Man had bestowed upon. And if that were true then they were, in fact, wasting time. No one had even mentioned the name of the villain in the many days that had passed, and everyone was acting as if he and Beast Boy being glued together was something of the norm. He didn't want to be stuck to Beast Boy forever.

That was not to say, dear reader, that he did not enjoy the time getting to know his friend better. Yes, they still had their little quarries here and there, but it could easily be passed off as a mere joke and all would be well moments later. This...this had been different. He could see it written clearly on the shifters face. He was hurt by Robin's words, that much was obvious. It gave Robin an awful churn in his belly whenever he thought about it. Not the usual churn he got whenever he and the changeling shared a private moment together, nor the churn he felt whenever he woke from his nightmares only to be calmed by the presence of his teammate.

No, this feeling was much...much worse. It made him feel sick, like his innards were swaying in a vessel caught in a hazardous storm. He wanted to say something, but there was a voice in the back of his head that said he did not deserve the right to say sorry. That he didn't deserve Beast Boy's friendship. He could not say he's ever seen that expression on his face before; the look of utter betrayal.

And so what?

Was he wrong for speaking the truth? To say what no one else will? Was it his fault that Beast Boy had taken what he said so sensitively? Yes, he may be a bit cranky from the lack of sleep, but that did not delude the fact that what he said was not wrong. And to involve the sorceress with his false hope of separation is just more time being wasted when the root of their problem did not lie within her. They should instead focus on the problem at hand, which is finding Magic Man. Beast Boy becoming angered by what he said just proof that he was too childish to understand the dire situation they were in.

A sniffle brought the leader out of his thoughts, and his attention was drawn to the teen beside him. He was viciously wiping his eyes, and Robin chose not to fathom what was causing such a display. When he finally stopped, he crossed his arms tightly around his body, given one final sniff, and looked over at Robin with red eyes and a scowl on his face.

"What?" He snapped. This reaction did not settle well with the leader, and instead of asking if he was okay, Robin returned the glare and crossed his arms with equal annoyance. Before he had a chance to respond, Raven stopped in front of them, causing the two the pause as well.

She spun around, first catching Robin's gaze before shifting to Beast Boy for a moment longer. She then turned back to Robin, her eyes lowering threateningly.

"I don't know what's going on with you two-" She began lowly.

"Nothing's going on." Robin argued in annoyance. She ignored his comment and looked at Beast Boy, her expression growing slightly softer.

"Whatever's going on between you two needs to stop." She stated calmly. "Need I remind you that I'm an empath and I can feel whatever you're feeling." She said looking between the two. "And I'm mentally linked with you, Robin."

"What are you trying to say?" Robin challenged.

"I'm saying," Raven said, obviously trying to keep her cool. "We can try some of these spells I found, but none of them are going to work. We'd just be wasting time and my energy." At the revelation, the heroes both deflated.

"Then why did you-?" Beast Boy began, only to be interrupted by the raise of the sorceress's hand.

"I'm not a counselor but I can't exactly trust you two to resolve your problems on your own right now." Raven answered before the question could even be stated.

"So you want us to, what, talk about our feelings? There's nothing to discuss!" Robin snapped.

"Why are you so against getting help from people?" Beast Boy argued back, now facing his leader.

"Why would we need help? No one said anything about our fighting before all of this and things were fine. We argued everyday and we were fine. Why is now anymore different?" Robin yelled.

"Gee, I don't know Rob. Maybe because we're glued together 24/7 now?" Yelled the changeling.

"And who's fault is that?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot we live in Robin's perfect little world where nothing is ever his fault. Newsflash, dude, I didn't start this fight!"

"Yeah, well, you know I'm right. You want to break this curse just as much as I do." Robin shouted. At this, Beast Boy laughed in disbelief, not quite believing what he had heard.

"I can't believe that out of all people I got stuck with someone like you." Beast Boy said, his demeanor more calm than anything now.

"Yeah, well, the feelings mutual." Robin agreed. Just then an alarm blared throughout the hallway, illuminating it with a bright red light. Robin turned towards Raven, who's eyes were still wide with shock of what took place. "I feel a lot better now, thanks Raven."

* * *

The distress call came from a high class jewelry store in downtown Jump City. Apparently, some unknown villain was causing quite the stirrup and it was too much for the cops to handle. The team had opted to take the T-Car, and was speeding wildly down the streets of Jump to catch the villain before any real damage could be done.

No one had said a word during the course of the ride, the air hung much to heavy for that. Although no one but Raven knew exactly what had taken place in their short time apart from the group, the remaining titans knew it could not had been good. Robin and Beast Boy would not make eye contact with each other, and Raven seemed to distance herself even more than usual.

Cyborg screeched to a stop at an intersection, directly across from said jewelry store. He hesitantly turned towards his leader, who was halfway through a yawn when he met eye contact. This stroke the cyborg as odd, for their leader was usually attentive when it came to missions, especially when the threat was unknown. Either he did not care at all about the threat, or he was tired. Cyborg chose to believe the ladder

"So what's the plan?" Cyborg asked expectantly. Robin blinked hard in confusion.

"What?" He questioned.

"How do you want to approach this? We don't know who's in there or if there's any hostages." Cyborg stated. Robin had been to preoccupied with his feelings towards Beast Boy to even start thinking of what do do about the situation.

"Right...uh...we should-" He began nervously, looking between his expecting teammates consciously.

"Raven should teleport in to see if there's any hostages. Then report back to us once you get those details. We'll figure out what to do after that." Beast Boy interjected with such confidence that no one dared to question him. Raven nodded and in a split of a second she vanished.

"Should uh...I be worried?" Cyborg said after a moments silence. "About you guys?"

"We're fine." Robin muttered, folding his arms.

"But friends, you have not so much as looked at each other since-" Starfire began.

"Look, Star, now's really not the best time to talk about this. Let's just beat whoever this guy is and get back to the tower, ok?" It was only the pleading look that Beast Boy gave her that led Starfire to half-heartedly agree. Cyborg, however, was much less convinced, but dropped the subject once Raven re-appeared inside the passenger's seat.

"There's no hostages but," Raven hesitated, looking between the fastened duo wearily before finishing her sentence. "It's Magic Man."

"Magic Man?" Robin repeated in a mixture of shock and relief. "What are we waiting for? Titans, go!" His hand was already on the car door handle before anyone could talk any sense into him. Beast Boy let out a yelp as he was forcefully tugged out of the vehicle.

"Robin, wait! We can't just go in there." Beast Boy yelled, holding his ground and forcing the leader to stop. His teammates were immediately at the shifters side, prepare to hold him back if Robin tried to run off again.

"We need to catch him." Robin argued.

"We need a plan." Beast Boy snapped back.

"B's right. You need to chill for a second, man." Cyborg agreed, giving his leader worrisome glance.

"Fine, whatever." Robin sighed, running anxious fingers through his hair. "What should we do then?" He looked at Beast Boy expantantly, causing him to furrowed his brows in confusion.

"What?" He asked.

"Well you already had one bright idea. I just assumed you had more." Robin stated, but by his tone it was anything but appreciative. Beast Boy folded his arms, emitting a low growl from back of his throat.

"Now's not the time for this." Raven snapped before either of them could start another argument. Her eyes cut to Robin as a warning, and he made a face of complete innocence.

Just then an explosion when off in the building, and Magic Man floated out of the newly gaping hole carrying sacks of presumably jewels.

"Guess we're winging it." Cyborg grumbled, pulling out his sonic cannon. As soon as he did this, the villain turned to the groups direction and grinned sinisterly.

"Ah, I wasn't expecting you, my friends. I feared that I would never get to see your beautiful faces again." His eyes flickered to the tie duo and his smile grew wider at the sight. "Is this a trick or perhaps a ploy? Why, if it isn't my newest subjects, Robin and Beast Boy!"

"I don't have time for this. Titans, go!" Robin shouted. Immediately, the heroes took off. Cyborg fired his cannon, narrowly missing the villain. Raven and Starfire both took to the sky, shooting their respective beams at villain before he had a chance to regain stability. He narrowly avoided these attacks as well. Finally Robin and Beast Boy came out of the aftermath of the smoke.

Robin held his bow staff in hand, prepared to knock the rhyming maniac off his feet when instead he was punched away by a large, green fist. It was only by sheer instinct that he didn't pull through with his attack and managed to stop himself before he made contact with the gorilla.

"Hey, watch it!" Beast Boy yelled after shifting back to his normal state, glaring up at his leader.

"I had him." Robin growled, holding the glare.

"Not the time!" Cyborg yelled as he ran passed them to join the battle. The duo gave each other one last warning glare before following their teammate. Magic Man had quickly recovered from the blow and was now casting spells wildly at the titans.

"Give it up, Magic Man. You won't win." Robin yelled once they've finally corned the villain. He smiled his crooked smile, eyeing the tied duo once again.

"That may be true, I am outnumbered once more. Perhaps I would have a better chance if it wasn't five to one, but five to four."

"He's going to split again!" Beast Boy yelled in realization, but it was too late, and there were now four Magic Men in their presence. They each cackled before flying off in different directions.

"We should not do the splitting up again." Starfire suggested worriedly.

"We can't just let him get away, Star." Robin countered.

"But he split himself into four this time. What was the point of that? He managed to beat us with just three of him last time." Cyborg asked, bringing the odd decision into attention.

"He wants to make sure Robin and Beast Boy go alone." Raven gasped upon realization.

"I don't like the sound of that." Beast Boy said. All of one titan nodded in agreement.

"We still can't just let him get away." Robin stated, meeting the eyes of his teammates. "We'll be just fine if we split up."

"Robin-" Beast Boy tried to reason, only to get cut off.

"Titans, split up!" Robin yelled agitatedly. The team gave their leader bewildered looks, but did not question him any further. The titans took off to find their respective clone, leaving the tied duo to take the leftmost flight.

They ran through the buildings, keeping a steady, quick pace as they searched for the villain. Beast Boy glanced at his leader who kept his eyes steady ahead.

"It could be a trap, you know?" Beast Boy panted, after the turned a tight corner.

"I don't care." Robin gruffly answered, pushing to go faster and causing Beast Boy to do the same.

"You don't care?" The changeling repeated incredulously.

"I just want this spell broken." Robin answered. His eyes darted toward the changeling in annoyance. "You're slowing me down."

Perhaps Robin did not intend his words to come off so harsh, but it had, and Beast Boy took offense. The changelings eyes widened and then lowered dangerously. In a split of a second, a cheetah appeared beside Robin, eyeing him angrily. Robin looked down, gasping in shock before glowing at the green feline.

"Don't. You. Dare." Robin growled between his teeth. The cheetah seemed to smirk at him before looking straight ahead and picking up his pace. Robin gasped at the sudden change of pace, and struggled to stay afoot as the cheetah picked up speed. Soon, his feet could no longer keep up the the cat's speed, and he tripped over his own two feet and collided with the ground. Still, the cheetah did let up, and continued sprint throughout the city at top speed.

Robin screamed as he was, quite literally, dragged across the ground, yelling for the shifter to stop. He latched onto the cheetah's tail to gain some support, but this seemed to only prompt him to go faster.

"Beast Boy!" He screamed once again. And to his surprise, he stopped and shifted back to his humanoid form, looking down at his leader with an expressionless look.

"I hope I didn't slow you down too bad. Magic Man is behind the corner." He stated. Robin decided to swallow his anger at the mention of Magic Man, and instead chose to focus on the task at hand. He quickly got off the ground, dusting himself off and glaring angrily at the changeling. He then brushed passed him, peering behind the corner. Sure enough, Magic Man was there, examining the jewels in his sack.

Before Beast Boy could argue with him, Robin pulled out a bird-a-ring and chucked it at the villain, knocking the jewel right out of his hand. The villain looked up in surprise before a knowing smile graced his features. He spread his arms like a welcoming embrace, cocking his head to the side.

"Friends, I have been waiting for what seems like-" Magic Man began.

"Save it." Robin interrupted, walking around the corner to meet the villain face to face, adragging Beast Boy along with him. The villain marbled with amusement at the display, chuckling slightly. "Whatever spell you have us under, you need to break it."

"Oh, but that is something I can not do. Whether the bondageis broken or not really depends on you." The villain giggled. Robin growled, and without a word he grabbed the trickster by the collar of his shirt and raised his fist.

"Robin!" Beast Boy gasped at the sudden display, but Magic Man merely chuckled.

"I see you did not like that answer, that I can tell. But tell me hero...have you been sleeping well?" At the mention Robin instantly froze, and a newfound rage boiled within him. He shoved the villain into a nearby wall, earning a yelp for the changeling beside him.

"What did you do to me?" Robin yelled, pushing him harder into the wall.

"Me? I did nothing that was terribly wrong, just gave a slight push to help things go along. All you two ever do is fight and yell, and I feel at this point you'll never break my spell." He said with a grin. A second later, the villain vanished from thin air and out of the leader's grip.

"I can't believe this!" Robin yelled, throwing his hands in the air.

"Robin." Beast Boy said calmly as of not to spook his frantic leader.

"We have to find him." He growled, punching the wall. The changeling jumped at the sudden display, but refrained from saying anything against it. "I can't...I can't take this much longer." He panted, leaning back on the wall and sliding onto the ground. Beast Boy watched with utmost concern, sighing.

"Robin, when was the last time you slept?" Beast Boy asked with a bit more urgency to his tone.

"Does it matter? We need to find Magic Man." Robin growled.

"I'm more concerned about you at the moment." Beast Boy said, crouching down to be at his level. He forced Robin to meet his gaze, holding him in his stare. "When was the last time you slept?" He asked again.

"I don't know...four of five days ago maybe." Robin finally answered after a moment of silence. Beast Boy let out a long sigh before pulling out his communicator. "What are you doing?"

"I'm calling off the mission. We can get Magic Man on another day." Beast Boy stated.

"What? No! We need to find him! I'm fine." Robin argued, only to be stopped by Beast Boy's harsh glare. Robin immediately closed his mouth, shocked to see Beast Boy give him such a threatening look. After he alerted the other titans, he stood up, offering a hand to his leader. Robin hesitantly took it, glancing at the changeling for a mere second before looking down at the ground.

Beast Boy did not say anything, or even look at Robin the whole ride home. Somehow, that was worse than what Robin had felt before when he had betrayed him. It was almost as if he'd disappointed him somehow. Robin did not think that was at all possible. Sure, they have fought before and have gone days without saying a word to each other, but this was entirely different. He had let him down.

He was thankful no one had questioned why they called off the mission, or why Beast Boy had prompted to stare out the window the entire ride back to the tower. Still, Robin was almost dreading what might happen once they arrived. Would Beast Boy yell at him for being so careless. Would he refuse to talk to him until Robin confessed what had been keeping him up at night? Would he not even care?

All too soon, they arrived back to the tower, and everyone headed to their quadrants without a word, too exhausted to discuss the events that had happened from their end of the battle. At one point, Robin opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. He decided to just mindlessly follow Beast Boy, not even questioning when he stopped by the med bay to grab a first aid kit.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the leaders room. Robin hesitantly placed his hands on the scanner, almost feeling agony as he watched the door slide open. He felt as if he should apologize. For what he did not know. But as he stepped into the room he could no longer take the silence and his mouth was saying words before his brain could even comprehend them.

"Beast Boy I-"

"Sit." Beast Boy demanded, pointing to the bed. Robin immediately closed his mouth a did as he was told. Beast Boy followed him as he made his way to the edge of the bed where he sat. "Take off your shirt."

"Why-?" Robin said, furrowing his eyebrows, but the look the young changeling gave him told him it was best to just do whatever he said to do. And so, the leader pulled the his uniform over his head, tossing it to the side. Beast Boy heaved a sigh stepping onto the mattress as well and sitting behind the caped crusader. He opened the medical kit, pulling out some neosporin, gauze, and bandages.

"I'm, uh, sorry for dragging you on the ground earlier." Beast Boy said as he sprayed the biggest scratch on Robin's shoulder blade with neosporin. Robin hissed at the sudden sensation, tensing for a moment until the pain resided. "I'm sorry about that too."

"I deserved it." Robin said after the pain subdued and he could feel Beast Boy wrapping gauze around his shoulder. "I'm sorry I've been acting like such a jerk." Beast Boy paused for a second, his eyes flicking upward, before continuing to patch up the wound.

"I'm used to it."

They fell into a relative silence after that. The only word explained between the two were the occasional "sorry" whenever the medicine burned too bad. Robin nervously twiddled at his thumbs while Beast Boy worked, not knowing if he should say something else or enjoy the relative peace the silence gave them. About twenty minutes later, Beast Boy finished wrapping up his back and moved towards the front.

As Beast Boy maneuvered in front of him, they locked eyes and it was as if time stood still. Neither of them could find the will to look away. It wasn't the spiteful glare that they had been giving each other throughout the majority of the day. Nor was it a stare of a challenge of some sort. No, this was a look of misunderstood longing. A longing for what, well, neither of them could quite fathom what it was.

It was by sheer willpower that Beast Boy was able to break the trance, and he coughed nervously into his hand and looked away. Robin blinked a few times, confused by what had just happened, but not angered by it nonetheless.

"I-I think I good now. I wasn't really on my stomach that much." Robin finally said, though he voice was barely above a whisper. Beast Boy looked up to examine his chest, ignoring whatever had just happened just mere seconds beforehand. There did not seem to be anything too serious, and any cut would heal in the next couple of days on its own. Still, he remembered one other injuring that had taken place, and he shifted his gaze to it.

"Your hand." Beast Boy said, shifting his eyes up, if only for a moment, to catch his gaze.

"Right." Robin sighed, unclasping his own hands to hand over the injured on to Beast Boy. The changeling carefully caressed it in his own, examining the bloody knuckles that came from the result of punch the wall. As he watched the changeling bandage his bruised hand, a certain feeling began to bubble at the pit of his stomach. It was warm and fuzzy, and caused his stomach to churn in the most unsettling of warmth spread up his body and onto his cheeks, causing him to finally turn away from the teen. It was that same feeling he had previously felt whenever he got too close to the changeling, and at that moment, he decided that whatever this feeling was; he like it.

He likes this feeling much more than whatever he had felt earlier. He hated the feeling of letting Beast Boy down. Why, he did not know. But he did not believe he would be able to hand that feeling again without becoming sick to his stomach. He did not want to ever experience that feeling again.

"Beast Boy?" Robin suddenly said, causing the changeling to look up from his work. "Do you...do you hate me?" He felt like throwing up after the question finally escaped. The thought of the changeling hating him was not something he would like to think about, but it was the cold reality he needed to face. There was no reason for him not to. He had been mean, uncaring, and cold to his supposed friend for no reason at all. He would have every right to hate him.

"I don't hate you." Beast Boy answered plainly. "I'm mad, yeah, but I don't hate you."

"About me being mean to you?"

"About lying to me." He corrected. He finished bandaging the leader's hand and stood on his feet, crossing his arms. "Remember on the beach, when we made a deal that we would tell each other if something was bothering us? Or did that only apply to me?"

Robin looked away, for he knew he was right. Beast Boy had every right to be mad about their broken promise. He had proposed the idea in the first place, after all. But Robin couldn't tell him about the nightmares or how he woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. That the only thing that calmed him down was Beast Boy's presence and he would much rather stare at him all night long than sleep. It was all too embarrassing.

"Let's go to bed then." Beast Boy finally said after accepting that Robin was not going to answer. He didn't look disappointed or angered by Robin's lack of response, but there was a sort of longing in his look as his arms dropped and he crawled into bed along with the leader.

Robin settled into bed, staring at the blank wall in front of him and tried to force himself to sleep. He needed to sleep to prove that he was alright. He needed to sleep so Beast Boy wouldn't be mad at him any more. But the more he thought about closing his eyes, the more afraid he became by the darkness that would follow afterwards.

He couldn't sleep.

"Beast Boy." He whispered, feeling betrayed by the wavering of his own voice. He hated feeling so vulnerable.

"Hm?" Was the shifters response.

"I-I can't do it." He finally spat out. "I can't sleep." A moment later, there was shuffling from the other side of the bed until finally a light was switched on. Robin rolled over and saw Beast Boy sitting up in the bed, looking at him expectantly.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" He asked in a hushed tone. Robin bit his lower lip to stop himself from saying no, and instead opted to shake his head in agreement. He slowly sat up as well, ignoring the pain he felt at the motion.

"Promise me you won't laugh...or find what I'm about to say weird." Robin whispered, hugging himself and avoiding eye contact with the shifters heave stare.

"Of course."

"Ok." Robin sighed with relief. It takes him a few moments to build the courage to being, but once he does, he can't stop. "Ok. So I keep having this nightmare where it's completely dark all around me and I'm running because I can see this light. But there's something chasing me and every time I get close to the light it catches me and suffocates me with it's tendrils. The last thing I always see is this… this black figure hovering above me and then I wake up."

He doesn't dare check to see if Beast Boy is listening or his reaction, but he imagines that it is something of understanding.

"After that I feel like I can't breathe and I don't know where I am and I'm too afraid to go back to sleep. The only thing that calms me back down is seeing you beside me and knowing that you're there and I'm not alone. And I know it sounds creepy, and I'm sorry for doing this, but I just kind of stare at you for the rest of the night. I don't know why but I do and you calm me down and you make me forget about that horrible nightmare. And I'm sorry I've been such a bad friend and didn't tell you but I don't know how much more of this I can take and I'm sorry."

By the end of his confession he is embarrassed and out of breath. By the end of his rant he was sure his words ran together and he didn't make much sense but he finally told someone. He couldn't look at Beast Boy after what he had just revealed. He couldn't stand to see the look of disgust at the reveal that he watched him in his sleep like some...some pervert. If Beast Boy didn't hate him before, then surely he had second thoughts now.

The silence that hung between them last several agonizing feared the worst by Beast Boy's silence. He feared that their friendship might permanently be over by this revelation.

"Beast Boy, I'm really so-"

" _Don't_." Beast Boy interrupted harshly, turning to meet his leader for the first time. "Don't apologize." He finished a bit more softly.

"But-"

"I'm not mad or disgusted or anything. I'm just shocked...I guess." He said slowly. "I've never seen you like this."

"I think I'm losing it." Robin confessed, lying back down on his back and facing the ceiling. Beast Boy looked down at him with an unreadable expression, biting his lip slightly. He surveyed the room, as if checking to see if anyone was there with them. He then slowly lowered himself into the bed as well.

Except, he didn't lay on his side of the bed as he normally would. No, instead our changeling had opted to slowly rest his head on the crusaders shoulder, poorling masking his ever-growing blushed. Robin made a sound of surprise upon contact, looking down at the mop of green hair the was now tickling his chin.

"What are you-?"

"Sh. Just...don't make this weirder than it already is, okay?" Beast Boy whispered, tightly closing his eyes from the embarrassment. "Sometimes when I have nightmares, I just wish there was someone there to hold me, y'know? And-and I know it's weird but...it might help? Since I calm you down and everything. And plus if you wake up then I can-"

"Beast Boy." Robin interrupted.

"Y-yeah?"

"Thank you." Robin finished. At the approval, a small smile spread across his face, and he moved closer to the older teen, placing a tentative hand of the hero's side.

"I'll be right here if you need me." Beast Boy concluded, letting out a tired yawn. Robin nodded and closed his eyes, despite his thundering heartbeat. Not soon after, he was washed over with the need for sleep, and he allowed darkness to consume his vision.

That night, dear reader, despite their attempt, Robin did have his nightmare again. However, one crucial detail was changed during the course of that dream. As Robin was struggling to find breath as he was slowly being suffocated, a dark figure, came into view and extended a hand towards him. He closed his eyes, awaiting his fate, when he felt a small tug on his shoulder. He opened his eyes, and to his astonishment, Beast Boy stood in front of him with a warm smile. He held out his hand to, beckoning him to follow him into the light. Without hesitation, Robin interlaced their fingertips and allowed Beast Boy to guide him into the light.

He did not know exactly what the newfound ending meant, but he did know that he did not wake up at all that night, and he rested peacefully.

 **Okay, first of all.**

 **This has been literally the hardest chapter for me to write, and I'm so tired right now. I've written and re-written this chapter maybe five times and like...I'm still not satisfied. but I know its been waaay too long since my last update and I needed to put something up. I've been literally working on this** _all day long_ **, which is really bad on my part considering its finals week and I need to study. But you guys are worth it! Also, I did not even notice when the word count reached 5k, and I've scanned back through this chapter quickly to make changes to major screw ups but, yeah, don't count this as one of my good chapters because I'm literally just running on determination at this point. (I should probably eat). I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors and confusing word phrases in this chapter. I just know that I won't have any other time to upload for the next few weeks so I wanted to get it done now.**

 **You guy's have been so patient and nice to me while waiting and like...I don't deserve that. Thank you all so much for the reviews and feedback, I take everything into consideration and I really appreciate them! Also, if you havent already checked out my stories "It could be a love story" and "friends with benefits" I would highly suggest it! I will be working on the first one after this one is finished, and friends with benefits gets uploaded whenever I finish a one shot.**

 **Again, I'm really sorry about the hiatus and the monstrosity that is this chapter! I plan to upload as soon as finals week is over and I have some time to relax!**


	9. Chapter 9

An unsteady moan escaped as Beast Boy slowly woke from his state of unconsciousness. He felt an unfamiliar warmth radiating throughout his body, starting from his head and coursing down to his abdomen. Although this stroke him as odd, he could not quite say he displeased it, despite not knowing where it was coming from. In his drowsy state of mind, he couldn't care less where this heat was coming from, and only sought to get closer to the source.

He slowly opened his eyes, blinking heavily at the sudden sunlight. He made a notion to move his hand, perhaps to rub away the irritation, but stopped once he noticed what it had been resting on. His face immediately heated with embarrassment as he remembered the events of the night before, and the position he was currently laying in. Or laying on, to be more precise.

His upper body was draped across his leaders torso, with his head resting on his opposite shoulder. And while he had one free hand, the other was firmly tucked behind Robin's neck. Beast Boy made a small sound of surprise,and immediately prepared to create some distance between him and his bound teammate, when suddenly the arms around him held on tighter, keeping him in place. Beast Boy looked up, snapping his head towards his mask leader in shocked. He was about to question the sudden movement, when he heard a soft snore emit from his mouth.

He was still asleep.

A wave of relief washed over him at the realization, and he felt his nerves slowly starting to calm. There really was no need to wake him just yet. Why, the poor lad had not slept in well over several days, after all. It would be wrong of him to disturb his slumber, especially since he had initiated the position.

Letting out an unsteady breath, Beast Boy found himself staring at his masked leader's face. It was unusually serene. The hard wrinkles from his usual stoic and serious expressions had vanished completely, leaving him looking youthful and vulnerable. His thin, pink lips were slightly parted, allowing a passageway for air to enter and his soft snores to escape. He never before noticed the small scars that were around his face. He counted five in total, and they couldn't have came from anything larger than minor cuts and scratches; permanent evidence of past battles that the hero probably hadn't noticed he acquired himself.

It was almost unfair how undeniably handsome his leader was, despite having a good percentage of his face covered by a mask. Why, when Beast Boy had decided to wear a mask to protect his "identity" some years ago, he ended up looking goofy and comical. No matter how much he tried to convince himself and others that his mask was cool, no one took him seriously. Yet, with Robin, girls still swooned just at the mere sight of him and his enemies knew he was someone to fear. They had a right, in a sense. Why, with unyielding composure and confidence to lead a team of ragtag superheroes despite not having a power himself, it would be almost uncanny to not find him amazing.

And yet, despite his charm and charisma, he was unreadable. The green teen had always considered himself good at reading eyes. Despite what a person body language or expression might display, the eyes never lied about what a person was truly feeling. However, he could never pinpoint Robin's emotions. That stupid piece of cloth was the only thing keeping him from fully understanding his leader. It was most likely the reason why he always felt the need to argue with him; he could never tell if he was telling the truth.

It was the reason why he was so upset when he found out that Robin had not been sleeping. On one hand, he felt responsible for his friend's distress. It had not been his intentions to annoy his leader to the point of a freak out, and when he broke down during battle he knew that this was something serious. He should've noticed something was wrong when his demeanor started to drastically change, especially since they were getting along so considiberly. On the other hand, he felt somewhat betrayed that Robin had not come to him about his problems; especially since he had been the one to propose this transaction. It felt one-sided, like he was the only one troubled in this strange, new relationship they were forced into. It wasn't fair.

He used to imagine what was hiding beneath his mask, like what his eyes looked like and what color they would be. Would they be dark and mysterious, cold and unfeeling towards the world? Or would they be bright and full of life, with hope and aspirations. Perhaps he would have dark circles under his eyes from working late nights. With dark hair, it was only logical to assume he would have dark eyes as well. The teen always had a hunch that they were a dark brown or hazel, swimming with different colors the more you looked into them. He always imagine he'd see the determination in his eyes as soon as he looked in them.

He sighed, resting his head on his leader's chest and listening to his steady heartbeat.

Magic Man had bound them for a reason, but it seemed nearly impossible to pinpoint what it was. Their encounter with him proved that he was toying with them, like puppets on a string. Although Robin was convinced that the teen did not care about breaking the spell, it was always running in the back of his mind. What if they never broke the spell? He and Robin had grown a lot closer since the whole ordeal, but he had no intentions of being bound to him forever. He wanted his personal space more than anything, but someone had to stay positive. Someone had to believe that what they were doing wasn't for nothing.

He absentmindedly began to run small shapes along his bare chest. It was soft, not quite like silk, but still supple. His fingers left faint trails of red in his skin that dispersed a second afterwards, and he cautiously avoided the small cuts in the area. He and Robin may not see eye to eye a lot, but he never denied the fact that they were close friends and he wanted to see him safe. It was why he had comforted him in this way, becoming so close that their skins touched and he was able to trace doodles into it. He should've found it weird that Robin watched him in the night, but he couldn't find himself to find it discomforting. For the first time, he felt like his leader needed him. It was almost honoring, in a sense; to have someone so independent have to seek someone else for stability, and him of all people.

"...Beast Boy?"

The green teen looked up, and saw Robin groggily rubbing his eyes. He tried to hold down his blush and remain composed as he met his eyes, giving him a soft smile.

"H-hey." He greeted, clearing his throat. "How'd you sleep?" The leader lifted his other arm, and the shifter took this as an opportunity to slide off of him.

He sat up, and waited patiently for his response, but his nerves were slowly building back up. Was their positions too awkward? They hadn't fallen asleep that way, and Robin had to have felt him touching him. The whole situation was a step over the line of things that should and should not happen between friends.

"I slept fine." Robin sighed, slowly shifting into a sitting position as well. There was a growing tinge to his cheeks as he did so, and he nervously rubbed his neck.

Beast Boy noticed this and looked up at him curiously. "And the nightmare?"

"I...still had it," Robin admitted, almost shamefully. But that was quickly masked by a short chuckle and a shake of his head, and he turned towards his bound teammate with a ghost a smile "But the ending was different."

"Different?" Beast Boy repeated. Robin nodded, and turned slightly so that they were sitting face to face.

"Yeah I...everything that happened before happened. But...in the end...you were there." He let out a shaky breath, rubbing his hand against his bandaged other. He looked up, meeting Beast Boy's curious stare. "I guess what I'm trying to say is...you saved me. And thank you."

"But I didn't do anything." The changeling argued.

"No I mean...thank you for caring. You had every right to be mad and you still helped me." Robin confessed. Beast Boy blushed, and looked down bashfully at his hands.

"Yeah well, that's what friends are for, right?" The changeling asked whimsically. Robin chuckled and made a sound of agreement. "Y'know I wouldn't mind if we…" Beast Boy trailed off as he realized just what he was saying. What he was about to say was breaking every wall that the gods of friendship had built up. But it was too late to take it back now and he was struggling to fix his mistake. "I mean, it's totally cool if you don't want to. I know it's weird, but...but it looks like it helps. Of course if you're uncomfortable then-"

"-Beast Boy?" Robin interrupted. The green teen immediately clamped his mouth shut, slowly looking up to meet his bound partner's hard gaze. He saw his hands slowly glide across the sheets until it reached his, and he slowly placed it over his own, giving it a tight squeeze. "If you're comfortable with...this...then I don't mind either."

Beast Boy felt a wave of relief wash over him, and he grinned, nodding his head. "Okay."

"Okay." Robin agreed enthusiastically, giving his hand one final squeeze before releasing.

And for whatever reason, dear reader, the changeling found himself yearning to feel that warmth again. And did not want it to ever leave again.

* * *

 **Merry Christmas (or if you don't celebrate, happy holidays!)!**

 **Sorry this chapter was so short, I wanted to get this up before the holidays, and I promise the next chapter will be eventful and their relationships will start to progress even more (I've actually been wanting to write the next chapter for the longest time and was having a hard time where it would fit into the story). This chapter was more of a filler chapter, and I wanted to get more BB's pov on their argument and where their relationship is going. As many of you have concluded, Robin is starting to develop feelings, but I feel like no one knows what Beast Boy is feeling. I hope this helps a little.**

 **As always, please review and let me know what you think!**


	10. Chapter 10

Robin frantically pounded on the controller, mashing the buttons far too hard than what was needed. He leaned over to the side along with his shifting, animated car, squinting hard at the tv. He and Cyborg were neck and neck, with Beast Boy not trailing far behind. They were on their final lap, and he had one last trick up his sleeve to pull through to win the match.

"Oh, this is most exciting!" Starfire cheered behind them, gnawing on her fingernails as she watched the trio in anticipation. Raven rolled her eyes, but even she could not help setting down her book and redirect her attention to intense game.

The half-human meta gripped his controller as he hunched over, fully determined to win this race. "Give it up, Bird Brain." He growled between his teeth.

"In your dreams." Robin laughed heartily. The finish line was now in view, and Robin had to pin the perfect moment to use his turbo boost. One false move, and his entire plan would be foiled. His finger tentatively hovered over the button, prepared to make the final push that would determine all.

Just as he was about to press the button, a small green car whizzed passed his and Cyborg's, crossing the finish line at lightning speeds. There was a loud wail that resounded throughout the room soon afterwards as Cyborg threw his controller on the ground in a fit of rage. Robin also let out a small sound of disbelief, staring wide-eyed at the now flashing screen.

"That's cheating!" The cyborg cried, pointing a crooked finger at the green teen. Beast Boy gave a wry smile and shrugged, setting his controller aside.

"Yeah, I really thought I had that one." Robin agreed, nudging the teen playfully. The young changeling seemed to jump in surprise at the sudden touch, but quickly masked his action by a short chuckle and rubbed the nape of his neck embarrassingly.

Usually, dear reader, a victory such as this would ignite a silly dance from the green lad, or perhaps he would gloat at the top of his lungs to his competitors, causing a light-hearted argument. However, he simply gave his leader a sort of mirthless smile and shrugged.

"Yeah," He sighed. "You should've seen your faces." He said this with little emotion, but it was enough to get his cybernetic friend back on his feet in a fit of rage.

"I wanna re-match! No way am I letting a grass-stain like you beat me." Cyborg yelled, crossing his arms. Beast Boy seemed to shrink into the cushions as he said this, and aimed to disappear without seeming too obvious. However, Robin had noticed his odd demeanor and found himself answering before his bounded counterpart could open his mouth.

"Actually Cy, Beast Boy and I need to check out the security cameras from the other day." Robin announced, standing up and stretching. Beast Boy quickly stood also, offering a small smile to his flabbergasted friend.

"Sorry, Cy." He mumbled, not daring to meet his still stuttering friend in the eye. "Later, okay?"

"Friends, must you leave us so soon? We have not all spent time together for nearly a varga." Starfire asked, giving the two boys hopeful looks. Robin glanced again at Beast Boy, who was looking anywhere else but his curious teammates.

"Well we really need to-" Robin began.

"-Aw, come on, dude! Star's right, we haven't hung out in a while. We should stay." The green teen piped up, surprising Robin. He spun to meet his teammate, who was pouting up at him with his hands clasped beneath his chin. Starfire saw this and decided to join in on the sad puppy expression, even going as far as to add in a whimper for emphasis.

Perhaps Robin had read Beast Boy's demeanor wrong. He had thought his younger teammate had been reacting strangely and would rather be elsewhere, but in his current position he seemed fine. Maybe he was reading into it too deep. He sighed.

"Well I guess we can-"

"Joy!" Starfire cheered, bringing both boys into a bone-crushing hug.

"Alright BB, it's rematch time!" Cyborg hollard, rubbing his hands together maliciously. They all sat back on the couch and started a new game. However, Robin could not put his entire focus into the match. No, his gaze would often drift off to the changeling beside him, and for whatever reason, a small, unsettling feeling began to rumble in the pit of his belly.

* * *

They had spent the whole day with the other titans, and although he loved every minute of it, his focus and mind would always wander to the changeling glued beside him. There was something off about him, yet the leader could not quite place his finger on what it was. He joked, laughed, and entertained his teammates just as he would on any other day, yet he seemed different.

Whenever there was a moment of silence, Beast Boy would seem to be in a daze, and his gaze would grow distant, as if remembering something important. He would get like this for only a few quick seconds before snapping out of it and cracking a corny joke that would result in groans of displeasure. Robin did not want to pry for a reason for this behavior, but not knowing was eating him up inside. He did not like to see him so distressed.

It was strange, to say the least, how concerned and worked up over the shapeshifter he was becoming. He never before cared for the others emotions, but then again, he never opted to pay much attention to him anyways. Yet, it was bothering him so much so that he was having trouble keeping it all to himself. Every time he saw his teammate deflate, if even for a second, he had the sudden urge to comfort him, and perhaps hold him in his arms and run soothing fingers through his messy hair.

He wanted to deny these desires, but it deemed impossible. Truly.

They were beside each other every second of the day, glued at the hip. And yet, Robin did not feel at all close enough to his friend as he should be. A certain bubbling in his stomach arose whenever there bodies brushed against each other. It was a short, electrifying feeling that would make him jump in surprise. And then there were their rendezvous in the middle of the night, when Robin would awake from his night terrors. Beast Boy would be by his side almost immediately and rub small circles into his back, holding him in his arms as Robin calmed his erratic breathing. Beast Boy was his stability, whether he knew this or not.

They never discussed what happened in the night. They seemed to have an unspoken agreement to keep...whatever they were doing a secret. There was something so personal about it. It was the first time Robin found himself not caring how vulnerable he looked in front of someone else, and although he never imagined that person to be Beast Boy, he couldn't bring himself to dislike it, or even feel embarrassed.

He just wished he could bring that same feeling of stability to him as well.

Cyborg suddenly let out a loud yawn, bringing Robin out of his thoughts. He hadn't noticed the movie had ended, and now the ragtag team was beginning to gather their belongings.

"I'm hitting the hay." Cyborg announced, letting out another yawn and standing up.

"I'll be in my room." Raven monotonously stated, closing her book.

"Goodnight." Beast Boy called after them as they exited the common room. That left Starfire, Beast Boy, and Robin to watch the rolling credits go across the street.

"Star, are you not tired? It's getting pretty late." Robin asked. Starfire stopped petting Silkie, much to his displeasure, to look up at the curious duo.

"Yes," She answered. She then offered the two a warm smile. "I am just happy you two are getting the along." She ignored their surprised expressions, and instead stood up and wrapped them into a gentle embrace. After a few seconds she released them and flew to the door, giving them one last smile, before disappearing altogether.

Ah, the silence that ensued soon afterwards was not something either of them much enjoyed. Beast Boy began to twiddle with his fingers, and stared down at the floor.

"Well that was-" Robin began awkwardly.

"-Yeah." Beast Boy trailed off in agreement.

"Are you tired?" Robin asked.

Beast Boy shrugged, still not looking up from his thumbs. "Sure."

"Are you alright?" This seemed to grab the changeling's attention, and he looked up with wide eyes.

"Yeah, of course! Why wouldn't I be?" He said this non-to convincingly, and a bit too quickly to be overlooked.

"You just seem off, is all." Robin shrugged, not wanting to seem too burdensome.

"I'm fine. Totally peachy, dude." Beast Boy grinned, now exaggerating his motions to emphasize his words. "Never better. You really," His voice cracked and his body began to nervously bounce his legs up and down. He bit down on his lower lip, shaking his head slightly. "Really don't have to worry about me." He finished quietly.

"Beast Boy?" Robin said, scooting closer. He placed a hand on his bouncing knee, stopping it immediately. Beast Boy looked up at him, and his eyes were wide beginning to glass over. "You can talk to me, you know?"

"It's stupid, really." Beast Boy sighed, looking away. "I shouldn't even be worrying about it." Robin squeezed his knee, encouraging him to go on. Beast Boy cast a glance up at him before looking away again and taking in a big breath. "It's just…" He bit his lip and quickly rubbed his eyes. "Today's the day my parents died."

Robin had not been expecting that, to say the least.

He did not know what to say in this situation, so he just let out a lame "Oh" as a response.

"Yeah, and usually I go to a river bank and say a few words to them, update them on my life and stuff. But seeing as how things are now…"

There were several responses that went through the leader's mind at that moment. The closest riverbank was a few miles away from the outskirts of Jump City, and if what Beast Boy said was true, he would be out of commission until he returned. What if there was a crime? No one would know where he was, or if he was safe. The leader part of Robin wanted to reprimand him for sneaking off and lecture him on the dangers of what he had done. However, he's never seen the boy look so sad before, and it brought a certain pain to his chest.

"I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for." Beast Boy said with a slight chuckle. "It's stupid."

"I don't think it's stupid." There was another awkward pause between them. Robin so desperately wished to know what words would be appropriate to comfort his teammate, but alas, he lacked the ability to find the words to suit the mood.

"Can we go to bed? I'm really tired." Beast Boy quietly grumbled, breaking the silence. Robin could only watch wide-eyed as the teen stood up, and he couldn't find a reason for them to stay. Robin begrudgingly nodded, and silently followed Beast Boy out of the common room.

The sounds of their footsteps were almost deafening to Robin. He wanted to say something, anything, to make Beast Boy feel better in the way he had done for him, but the words were not coming to him. He opened his mouth a couple times, but not knowing what to say, quickly closed it and directed his attention elsewhere. All too soon, they were standing in front of his door. Yet, Robin could not bring himself to open it.

"Robin?" Beast Boy asked, looking up curiously at his leader.

"Follow me." Robin said, suddenly grabbing Beast Boy by the wrist and pulling him in the opposite direction. He was surprised that the shifter did not question his motives, and simply allowed himself to be guided to the elevator. Truly, Robin did not know what had possessed him to do this, or exactly where he was going. He just knew that he shouldn't allow Beast Boy to go to sleep in his current state. It wouldn't be right.

The elevator doors slid open, and a gust of wind swept into the enclosed box of metal. Robin seemed just as surprised to end up here as Beast Boy, and cleared his throat nervously. The night was clear with only a soft breeze and the sounds of nocturnal animals to disturb the tranquility of the night air.

"We're outside." Beast Boy stated. Robin pursed his lips, looking straight ahead to the city across the ocean.

"Yeah." Robin answered plainly. He nodded towards the dock and the two strolled to the boardwalk, overlooking the low tide of the ocean swishing across the island. They stopped once they reached the end of the boardwalk. Beast Boy folded his arms, giving his leader a questioning look. "It's no river bank, but I just thought…" He trailed off, now feeling embarrassed. "Actually, I don't know what I was thinking."

"Thanks." Beast Boy quietly answered, looking down into the water.

Robin watched him warily. "Just uh, pretend I'm not even here."

Beast Boy nodded and sat down, letting his feet dangle off the ledge. He stared down at the water and let out a wavering sigh.

"Hey Mom. Hey Dad. Sorry it's so late and we're not in our usual spot." He looked up nervously at his leader, who quickly looked away upon eye contact. "I'm in a pretty sticky situation actually. Literally." Beast Boy then let out a light chuckle that fluttered through the air. "You know my friend Robin, right?"

Robin perked up at the sound of his name, and he turned his attention back to the green teen. A slight tinge began to burn his cheeks as Beast Boy patted the space beside him, giving him a small smile of approval. Robin slowly descended into a sitting position beside his teammate, and offered him a nervous smile.

"I tell them about you all the time." Beast Boy whispered. Robin felt his body jump in surprise, and his heart began to quicken.

"Y-you do?"

"Of course. I talk about you, and the other titans, and everything that's going on in my life." He answered, shrugging.

"That's...nice of you." Robin answered as he stared down at the water and at his reflection. "You and your parents must have been close."

"We were." Beast Boy answered plainly, nodding his head. "I...I don't really remember much before the accident, but I like to think we were." Robin suddenly felt like he shouldn't have said anything, and opened his mouth to apologize, however Beast Boy beat him to it. "It's been so long that sometimes I forget what they look like. I've already forgotten what they sound like." His voice began to splinter and waver as he confessed this. Robin instinctually placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.

"God… I miss them and I can't even remember them!" He cried. He buried his face in his hands and let out a sound of frustration. He sucked in a large intake of air before, running tired fingers through his hair and hunching over. "Pathetic, I know." He grumbled.

Robin dropped his hand and decided to stare down at the water below. On one hand, he was glad that he and Beast Boy had become close enough that the changeling could confide with him so intimately, especially on a subject so personal. It made him feel light, and almost special. Moments like these he presumed he set aside for someone like Cyborg, whom he was much closer to. It was heartwarming to know that he could be trusted like this. Yet, on the other hand, his heart weighed heavy, like an anvil was being stacked on top of it with every pump. He hated, absolutely loathed, seeing the changeling like this. He had to do or say something that would make him feel better.

Robin glanced at him one last time. He had a deep frown of his face as he looked down into the water. The wind was gently tossing his hair, and the moonlight was illuminating him so beautifully. However, the moonlight showed just how depressed the boy look, and it brought an unbearable pain to his stomach.

He took in a deep breath, finally knowing what was needing to be said.

"Um, hi...mister and misses," Beast boy's head snapped so fast towards his leader that Robin was sure he would receive whiplash. Robin raised his eyebrows, motioning towards the water with a shrug.

Beast Boy cleared his throat, sitting up and watching his leader curiously. "Logan."

"Logan." Robin finished with a smile. He then cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "My name is Robin and...if you don't mind," He let in a shaky breath and gripped the end of the dock. "Could you give a few words to my parents?" He did not dare look up to meet the changeling, not wanting to see the pitying expression he was sure he was receiving.

"Robin." Beast Boy's voice was breathy, as if not believing what he had heard. Robin pursed his lips together and closed his eyes. He's always chose to block the memories of his parents, for it was less painful that way. He couldn't even remember the last time he had thought of them. "Hey," Beast Boy said softly, placing a hand on top of Robin's. Robin finally looked up, meeting the changeling in the eyes. "I'm sorry." He said earnestly.

Robin smiled and nudged Beast Boy lightly. "I guess we have more in common than we thought."

Beast Boy laughed and inched closer to him and rested his head on Robin's shoulder. They both stared across the the ocean, just enjoying their newfound solace. "What were they like?" Beast Boy asked after a few passing moments. For whatever reason, Robin did not hesitate to share.

That night, dear reader, was spent sharing pleasant memories of their parents. They stayed out well past midnight, just simply enjoying each other's presence and the stories they had to tell. Time seemed to be an obscure idea, for they had completely lost track of it and before they knew it, they had fallen asleep on the boardwalk. Thus, dear reader, marking the end of the beginning of a coming to for a certain caped crusader.

* * *

 **Hey guys!**

 **So as a part of my new years resolution, I want to try uploading once a week, preferably on Fridays. This will be challenging for me, but I really want to get this story finished so I can work a new story. Please keep me encouraged by leaving a review or showing your support.**

 **Also! Next chapter there will be...a kiss. I'm so excited for this next chapter! This chapter was going to have another part to it, but it was already getting pretty lengthy and I wouldn't have had it finished yet. But don't worry, I'll make what I had in mind fit one way or another (it will be super cute).**

 **As always, please review and let me know what you think!**


	11. Chapter 11

He couldn't breathe.

The tendrils were wrapping themselves harder around his throat, constricting his airflow and causing him to wheeze. Despite his best efforts to claw the things off of him, it was becoming fruitless, and with his quickly depleting energy, he knew he wouldn't have much luck anyways. His eyes widened as he watched another tendril snake above his eyes. The tentacle-like being raised itself slightly, as if preparing to strike. Robin shut his eyes, preparing for the worse, but it never came.

Suddenly, he could breathe again, and he could no longer feel the tight hold of the dark tendrils around him. He sucked in the air that he so desperately lacked, letting out a few hearty coughs in the process. Confused, he slowly opened his eyes, and was surprised to see a familiar figure standing above him.

"Beast Boy." He gasped. The young changeling smiled, and offered a hand toward his leader, to which took without hesitation. Beast Boy didn't let go of his hand as they walked towards the light, and Robin felt security in his hold. Soon, they were standing on the edge between darkness and light. Robin raised an eyebrow, wondering why they had stopped.

Turning towards him with the same small smile on his face, Beast Boy took Robin's other hand in his, pulling them closer together together. He brought Robin's hand up to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on his knuckles while staring directly into his eyes. Robin felt like he was in a trance, and he couldn't look away even if he wanted to. He felt a shudder go down his spine from Beast Boy's intense stare. It was as if that one notion had sent electricity through his veins, and although it shook him to the core, he craved more.

As if Beast Boy read his mind, he snaked his hands out of Robin's grasp to place them on either side of his face. He took a half of a step forward, bringing their bodies close enough to touch. Robin let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding in, and he felt his heart quicken as the changelings face slowly inched closer to his.

Finally, their lips met.

* * *

With a gasp, Robin's eyes shot open. He was staring up at a pale blue sky, and he could faintly make out a bird flying above him. With a groan, he rubbed his eyes, trying to rid the shock of the sudden brightness. He was still panting heavily, but that was mostly due to the shock of his nightmare. He had not been expecting...that.

He faintly felt a sensation on his lips where Beast Boy had kissed him. It was a tingling, sort of electrifying feeling that left his face hot and flustered. He was accustomed to the young changeling popping up in his dreams, saving him from the clutches of the monster and guiding him to the light, but this new ending contrasted the others by a landslide. He did not know what to make of it just yet.

Beast Boy's head was resting on his chest, with his fingers lightly clutching at his shirt. Robin's cape was draped across them,shielding them from the dangers of the outsider world. His hand was resting on the shifters back, and he realized he had been rubbing circles in his back subconsciously. Their positions felt right to him, and he couldn't fathom a more natural way to wake up. Despite his dream, he didn't feel at all embarrassed by what happened. He was confused by what it meant and bewildered, yes, but he wasn't the least bit embarrassed.

Suddenly, Beast Boy let out a moan, and he slowly lifted his head up and rubbed his eyes.

"Dude," He gasped in disbelief, looking around the landscape with wide eyes. "We did not fall asleep outside."

"First time for everything." Robin shrugged, sitting up. The changeling chuckled and sat on his knees.

"How'd you sleep?"

"As good as anyone who slept on a rock." The leader joked, turning to crack his stiff back.

"And the nightmare?" Robin paused at the question, and it took all his might to hold down an onrush of blood racing to his face. He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, avoiding eye contact.

"Oh, you know, same as always." He answered with another shrug.

The changeling frowned and looked down dejectedly. "I'm sorry it hasn't been getting better. I really thought what we were doing would help."

"It is!" Robin interjected quickly before clearing his throat and realizing how rash he had reacted. There was a moments pause as the two recollected their thoughts.

"Have I thanked you for last night?" Beast Boy asked, breaking the silence. Robin smiled and nodded.

"Only hundred times."

"Well I'm thanking you again." Beast Boy giggled before standing up. He casted one last glance at the ocean, whose waves were gently crashing against the island, before turning back to his leader. He casted him a warm smile before holding his hand out towards him. The sun was practically cascading down on him, illuminating him like a Greek god, and Robin couldn't pull his eyes away even if he wanted to. "C'mon, I'm starving!"

* * *

The bounded duo spent the majority of the day with the rest of their teammates. No one questioned them when they entered the common room with the smell of the outdoors wafting throughout the room at lightning speeds. Beast Boy seemed high in spirits and was determined to let everyone know it by being especially loud and obnoxious.

Usually, Robin would've loathed it if the changeling behaved like this, but for some reason he found that it no longer bothered him. In fact, he enjoyed seeing the youngster so happy. It brought a smile to his face to see him dance and tell corny jokes, and frankly, dear reader, he couldn't understand how he ever found his antics annoying before. He actually loved to see him like this. It surely outmatched the persona Beast Boy wore just the day before, and he did not ever want to meet the Beast Boy again.

It was strange how free he felt around the young lad. He had shared things about his past that he hadn't talked about in many years, some of which he hadn't even shared with the dark knight himself. They had slid off his tongue so effortlessly, as if he were speaking into a recorder that only he would only have access to hear. It was a bizarre feeling, but he welcomed it with open arms.

Despite being used as an excuse previous day, Robin really did feel the need to review the security footage from their most recent fight. He was convinced that the villain was the source of his nightmares; there was no way his rhymes from the previous fight were of a coincidence. Yet, as he reviewed the footage, his mind kept wandering to the green teen sitting on the floor beside him, flipping through a comic book.

There came a slight dilemma. You see, dear reader, the subject of the leader's most recent dream kept popping up in his mind. The kiss had felt so real, yet, at the same time, he knew it was just some sick joke Magic Man was playing on him. Each one of his dreams had been repetitive, never changing. For what reason did the loon have to make them do that? It didn't seem practical.

Although the logical aspect of his mind told him that the villain just wanted to get a kick out of him, the more emotional part told him that his dream was trying to tell him something. Perhaps, just maybe, the scene was trying to tell him that he...liked Beast Boy.

The thought made his throat wring dry and his stomach churn. It made him nervous and sweaty and he couldn't at all focus on the task at hand. Still, he did not think he liked the boy, at least not in that sense. They were friends, on the onset of becoming great friends even. He never would have imagine that that would make the young changeling a newfound love interest. Then why didn't he immediately detest the idea? He should be disgusted by the idea. He was still the same Beast Boy that pulled idiotic pranks. The same Beast Boy that talked about boogers and told terrible jokes. He was still the same childish teammate he's grown accustomed to. Robin sighed.

No, that was not true.

True be it that Beast Boy had not changed drastically in his outward behavior, but he had seen a much softer side of the boy. A boy that lost his parents and still mourned for them. Someone who was caring and put his own feelings aside to help others. Someone who was selfless and insecure, yet still managed to help others despite if it made him uncomfortable. He was easy to talk to and understanding and did not judge or hold a grudge.

What if he did like him?

It was a ludicrous thought, but a possibility. And although he did not think that that was what the dream meant, he couldn't shake the thought. He had to know if this was just some sick ploy created by Magic Man, or an underlying feeling he had been denying. It was eating him up alive to not know, and he needed a solution.

He bit his lip nervously, and pressed the rewind button for the umpteenth time .He stared mindlessly at the screen, trying desperately to find an answer. They could search for Magic Man again, but finding him was a chance in a million. And he couldn't just confront the man with Beast Boy right beside them anyways. He could discuss it with Beast Boy, but he didn't think he could manage telling him that they kissed in his dream without dying of embarrassment. Plus, it would probably weird him out enough to dislike him, and that was the last thing the leader it hit him. It was a crazy idea, but even the sorceress had mentioned it before as being a solution to other curses.

He just needed to find a way to kiss him in real life.

If they kissed, he would know if he liked him or not. It was a crazy idea but it was the only solution he could think of. It made his face flush to think of it, but he was determined to make it happen. It wouldn't be anything dramatic, just a peck on the lips; enough for him to know if his feelings were true. Of course, he couldn't just come out and kiss right now. The mood had to be set.

He glanced over at the changeling, who was staring fondly at the comic. He felt his heart flutter and quickly turned back towards the screen.

A date was all he needed. He and Beast Boy just needed to be alone for a couple hours and everything else would flow; just the way it had been for the past couple of days. But where, when? He didn't even know if he'd physically be able to ask if given the chance. Unfortunately, dear reader, the words escaped him before he had time to prepare.

"We should go out!" He suddenly announced, loud enough to cause Beast Boy to jump in surprise. The changeling looked up at him with wide eyes.

"W-what?"

Realizing how loud he had been, Robin blushed and cleared his throat, turning back towards the monitor in hopes to ease his nerves.

"We...I think we should hang out today. Just me and you." There was a long pause between them, and if Robin wasn't clutching the edge of his seat so hard, he would've been biting his nails in anticipation.

"Oh." Beast Boy finally said. "Um...no thanks."

"No?" Robin repeated in disbelief. He knew he should feel terrible by being rejected so quickly, but all he felt was a growing rage. "What do you mean, no?"

"Rob, come on." Beast Boy eased, shifting onto his knees. "We don't have to keep doing these bonding things anymore. It was a good idea, but I don't think we need it anymore."

"I know but-"

"We've become a lot closer now. If that didn't break the curse then I don't know what will." Beast Boy rambled on.

"Well yes-"

"Honestly, I don't know what Magic Man wants at-"

"The carnival!" Robin quickly interjected, stopping the changeling in his tracks. "Let's go to the carnival."

"The Carnival?" Beast Boy repeated, astonished.

"Yes, you...you wanted to go the other day, right? Let's go tonight."

"Tonight?" Beast Boy mimicked once again. Robin pinched his nose in agitation, and restrained himself from getting angry.

"Beast Boy," Robin sighed exasperatedly. "I want to do something fun with you, is that wrong?" There was another moments pause, and Robin was preparing for the worse. That is, until Beast Boy broke into a smile and jumped to his feet, breaking into a small jig.

"Sweet! This is gonna be so much fun. We have to ride all the rides, you hear me? Dude, I can't believe we're actually going!"

As Robin watched his little show, a small smile began to creep onto his face. Everything was going according to plan.

* * *

"You should bring a jacket." Robin announced, pulling out his own coat from his closet.

"I'll be fine, mom." Beast Boy said, sticking out his tongue. Robin rolled his eyes and slipped on his jacket. They wordlessly left his room and headed towards the garage. There was a nervous bubbling in his stomach as they stood in the elevator, but he also felt at ease. The changeling seemed ecstatic to be going to the carnival, and wouldn't stop talking for the whole hour they took to prepare.

Still, Beast Boy's excitement did not deter the encrypting thoughts from forming in the back of his mind. He tried to act as natural as possible, but he couldn't help being anxious. He was going to _kiss_ Beast Boy; that is, if he could go through with it. It was an exhilarating and thrilling feeling, and he was anticipating the moment it would happen. Perhaps on the Ferris Wheel, that was the most romantic place to do it, right? Or maybe during the firework show they were hosting tonight.

The elevator doors swished open allowing a gust of wind into the shaft. Beast Boy was the first to step out with his hands behind his back as he examined the area.

"Where's Cy?" He asked.

"Why are you looking for him?" Robin asked, folding his arms and following as Beast Boy aimlessly walked around the pillars.

"He's taking us, isn't he?" He questioned, pausing to cross his arms and stare up at his leader.

Robin grinned, and raised an eyebrow teasingly. "I was actually thinking we take my bike."

"Your bike?" Beast Boy repeated in shock.

"This again?" Cried Robin exasperatedly. Beast Boy shook his head, shifting to his side in disbelief.

"You never let me on your motorcycle." He argued.

"I know."

"You said if I so much as lay a finger on it you'd make me run the course until my legs give out."

Robin rolled his eyes. "I know."

"The closest I've ever been on to riding a bike was the moped. And we all know how that went." He laughed.

'

"Beast Boy." The leader groaned.

"Sorry." He squeaked. Robin offered a small smile before leading them to his motorcycle where he handed the changeling a helmet. He nervously accepted it and put it on his head, watching as Robin swing his leg over the seat. Once he was situated, he looked over his shoulder at the still standing teen and patted the space behind him.

Beast Boy nervously smiled behind his helmet and nodded. He slowly mounted onto the bike and wrapped his arms around his leaders waist once he felt the engine rev up. Before he could even prepare, they sped out of the garage and onto the bridge leading to Jump City.

Robin could feel Beast Boy's grip tighten as soon as he started the engine. It was sudden and sharp. He could detect the sharper than normal nails that were hiding beneath his gloves, and it brought a kind of excitement in the pit of his belly. His helmet was pressed against his back, and Robin was thankful his reddening face was shielded. They had finally made it to Jump City, and he decided it best to slow down and go the speed limit.

"How are you holding up?" Robin asked, coming to a stop at a stoplight. Beast Boy slowly lifted his head and examined their surroundings.

"I think I prefer flying." He groaned, resting his head back on Robin's once the light turned green. Robin chuckled and cruzed down the street, enjoying the warmth the changeling's body brought. Soon, the duo arrived at the carnival gates, and the caped crusader pulled to a stop.

"We're here." Robin announced. Beast Boy looked up, appearing to be in some sort of daze. He then immediately hopped off the vehicle.

"Sweet!" He cheered. Robin laughed and exited off the bike as well, and placing his helmet on the throttle. He stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets and examined the bright carnival lights. Unable to contain his excitement, Beast Boy wrapped his hand around his leader's arms and dragged them towards the entrance. Robin had to refrain from smiling as Beast Boy jumped for joy as he paid for an unlimited pass for the both of them.

They strolled around the carnival for a few minutes, taking everything in. Beast Boy still had his hands strapped around the leader's arm, as if afraid to lose him in the massive crowd, despite that being impossible with their current circumstances. However, Robin did not at all mind the closeness and he felt as though he made the right decision for their date.

"So," Robin began. "What do you want to ride first?"

"I don't know, there's so many this year." Beast Boy bit his lips as he looked around. None of the rides seemed to catch his eyes, and he wasn't all to keen to be scammed by a rigged carnival game, especially since Robin had insisted on paying for everything.

He was still confused on why his leader had wanted to come. Sure, he had agreed to go places before, but it was only by the insistence of Starfire. He usually complained the whole time. He glanced up at his tied partner for a quick second. He had a small smile on his face as he looked up at one of the roller coasters. It was almost creepy how happy he looked. True, they had shared a fairly intimate moment the night before, but he couldn't fathom that this would suddenly flip a switch in Robin's mind to actually enjoy going to a bonding exercise. He was hiding something.

However, Beast Boy decided not to question it. Robin had _wanted_ to hang out with him. He had initiated the act on his own accords. It was heartwarming, yet strange at the same time. Perhaps Robin genuinely wanted to spend more time alone with him, although they were together all the time now. It would be almost unbecoming to question his intentions.

He looked up at Robin one more time. Robin noticed this, and turned his attention to the shifter. Once there eyes met, his smile widened, causing Beast Boy's heart to flutter. It was such a warm and welcoming smile, and Beast Boy did not think he had ever seen him so happy. In turn, he found himself smiling also.

He then turned back to the roller coaster, and nodded towards it. "Let's ride that one."

* * *

They had been at the carnival for several hours and were having a blast. They had ridden nearly every single ride, the only thing being left was the ferris wheel. Robin nervously shifted his gaze to the changeling strapped beside him who was happily munching on popped corn. He felt a wave of apprehension wash over him, and quickly turned away. He had been trying to rack up enough courage to kiss him all night, and now the moment has finally come.

"Last ride." Robin quietly said, looking up at the ferris wheel. Beast Boy followed his gaze and raised an eyebrow.

"You wanna ride the ferris wheel?" He questioned.

Robin shrugged. "Why not? It's the only ride left."

"Okay." Beast Boy shrugged, but suspicion still laced his voice. They silently walked over to the line, which was surprisingly short. Within a few short minutes, they were strapped into their seat and preparing to lift off. Robin nervously clutched the bar in front of them, silently begging for the ride to begin so he could get it over with. Beast Boy noticed this and raised an eyebrow. "Nervous?" He asked.

"Of course not." Robin quickly brushed off. He let out a sigh of relief once he felt the cart suddenly shift and they slowly started to ascend. Pressing his lips together, he watched the people and tents on the ground grow increasingly smaller. He felt an unsettling wave of in his stomach, and suddenly he felt sick. He tried to ignore this feeling, but it was becoming more and more fruitless the higher they rose.

"Wow." Beast Boy suddenly breathed, causing Robin to refocus his attention to the boy beside him. He was staring up at the sky, his eyes wide and bright. He was leaning forward, as if the position would somehow heighten what he was seeing. Robin curiously followed his gaze, and had to agree with the changelings statement of awe; the sight was breathtaking. The sky was bright, illuminated with a fortitude of stars. The city was in full view, with a full moon cascading behind it. To top it all off, there were sparse occurrences of shooting stars, which made the sky twinkle with various colors. "It's beautiful up here."

This snapped Robin out of whatever trance he was in, and he turned to meet Beast Boy. He was staring at him now, with wide green eyes and a toothy grin that could win awards. Robin gulped. "Yeah."

Perhaps this was appropriate moment to follow through with his plan. They were in the perfect setting, alone, and staring into each other's eyes. It only seemed logical to do so. And yet, he couldn't move. His body would not physically allow him to break such a perfect moment. It would only be one simple push; he'd just have to lean forward a few inches and they would meet. They were already so close. Still, it was as if Robin had frozen on the spot, and he no longer had control of his bodily functions.

Beast Boy looked away, finding their stare far too long. "We've been up here for awhile now, huh?" He said nervously, looking down at the conductor and waving at him, trying to get his attention. After realizing his efforts as futile, he sat back in the seat and folded his arms, rubbing them slowly. Robin noticed this, and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you cold?" Robin asked, smirking. Beast Boy looked up and blushed crimson. "I told you to bring your jacket."

"It's just a little chilly." Beast Boy shrugged, folding his arms even more tightly around himself.

"Here." Said Robin, beginning to shed his jacket.

"No way, dude!" Beast Boy quickly interjected, waving his hands frantically. "I'm fine, really. It's just a draft." Robin ignored his disputes and put the jacket around his shoulders with a roll of his eyed. "Won't you be cold?" Beast Boy quietly asked, toying with the fabric between his fingertips.

"Just fine." Robin answered. Beast Boy smiled up at him, taking the jacket and wrapping it tighter around himself.

"Thanks." The shifter said, smiling softly. Robin felt a fluttering feeling in the pit of his belly, and it began to spread its wings throughout all parts of his body. He bit his lip nervously, and he knew now was time to test his theory, he could feel it. Just as he prepared to lean forward and seal the deal, the cart suddenly shifted, and they began to descend.

"Finally." Beast Boy cheered, patting the handlebar excitedly. Robin sighed and leaned back in the chair, looking away dejectedly. He had failed.

They did not exchange anymore words during the ride, and did not speak once the got off of it. They aimless walked through the many attractions the carnival had to offer, and although Beast Boy seemed comfortable grazing through the streets, Robin was mentally scolding himself the whole stroll. He had been so close to finding the answer, but fate seemed to have a terrible loathing for him.

He was going to go through with it, he had felt the confidence radiating through him. Of course something would get in the way of things. And then there was Beast Boy. He had to have known what his intentions were. He had asked him on a date, paid for everything they did, and had a fairly romantic moment on possibly the most romantic rides there were. There were clear signs and he was acting completely oblivious. It was just like him to do something like this.

He grumpily followed the changeling to a bench near one of the resting areas, and they sat in silence for a few minutes. Beast Boy nervously twiddled with his fingers, looking down at the ground.

"Did I," He began tentatively. He cleared his throat and looked up at his leader with a frown. "Did I do something?"

"What?" Robin asked, a bit more gruffly than he had intended.

"Did I do something wrong? You're acting funny."

"I'm fine." Robin growled, crossing his arms and looking away. Beast Boy clutched the edge of the bench and tried to refrain from the argument he could see surfacing.

"Come on Rob, we've been having such a great time." Beast Boy sighed exasperatedly. He placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to gain his leader's attention. "If you need to talk-"

"There's nothing to talk about." Robin snapped, shrugging off Beast Boy's hand. "This whole thing was a stupid idea." Beast Boy let out a sound of disbelief, letting his hand fall. He shook his head, not quite believing what he had just heard.

"You know what, Rob," He said, licking his lip in agitation. "This is so typical of you. Just when things are going good for us you always find a way to mess it up." He growled.

"I've done nothing wrong. It's not fault you just don't see it." Robin seethed, finally turning to meet the shifter with slanted eyes.

"So what was this? I told you we didn't have to go but you insisted. I thought you wanted to hang out with me." Beast Boy yelled, suddenly springing to his feet with a newfound rage. Robin stood up also, meeting him face to face.

"How slow can you honestly be, Beast Boy?" He yelled back, causing Beast Boy to take a step back "I asked you out. I wanted be alone with you. What do you not understand?"

"I'm sorry I don't speak Robin. You know, I thought we were finally getting along. What else could you possibly want?"

"Unbelievable!" Robin screeched. He then grabbed Beast Boy by the collar of his jacket and,before the changeling could argue, pulled him forward and crashed their lips together. Robin swore he could hear the sparks fly, or perhaps it was the fireworks going off overhead. Whatever it was, it caused the feeling in his stomach to combust, and he suddenly felt warm all over.

He didn't know how long they stood like this, but soon his grip on the jacket began to loosen and he slowly pulled away. His eyes were still closed as he fully released the changeling, and he dropped his arms. He didn't want to lose the sensation he had gained, and he felt that if he were to open his eyes, the feeling would completely disappear. It was only then that he realized what he had done, and he felt a new sensation course though him. He had just kissed Beast Boy, and not even under the best circumstances. He felt his heart stop.

Slowly, Robin opened his eyes. Beast Boy was in front of him, his eyes practically bulging out of its sockets and his mouth touching the floor. Robin pressed his lips together, and looked away in embarrassment.

"Beast Boy, I can explain." He finally said after a moment's silence. He turned back to Beast Boy, reaching a hand out towards him.

"Don't touch me!" He cried. He then shoved the boy wonder with enough force to knock him off his feet. Robin crashed onto the ground, and he felt the wind get knocked out his body. Robin stared at the ground for a few seconds with his eyes wide. He realized he had made a grave mistake. He had been wrong to do that.

He quickly sat up and shuffled onto his feet. "I'm so sor-" He stopped mid-sentence. He looked around, and a new panic arose in him. For where the changeling once stood, only the jacket he had lent remained, discarded in a heap on the ground. Robin shakily bent down and picked it up, and he bit his lip with worry. "Beast Boy?"

He slowly began to walk along the pathway they had been on, looking around frantically. His pace only quickened once he realized the changeling was nowhere to be seen. "Beast Boy!" He called again. He could feel his heart beating against his chest, and he found himself shaking, not from the cold, but out of fear. His pace began to quicken until he was running at a full sprint. He pushed past people and ran through different rides as he searched for his lost friend. He searched the entirety of the fairgrounds forward and back, but his efforts were fruitless.

Beast Boy had vanished.

* * *

 **It's Friday(ish) my dudes! *screeches***

 **Sorry this is a little late, I just got this finished. First of all, thank you for all the support from the last chapter! I can't explain how happy it made me reading the reviews! I hope I didn't disappoint with this chapter. So, how was that for a cliffhanger? Robin is a bit of an idiot but I love him anyways.**

 **Also, I'm thinking of drawing a scene from this story and posting it on my tumblr or something, but I don't know which seen is the best. If you want, suggest to me what you would like to see digitalized and I'll consider!**

 **I start classes again on Monday, and I don't want to give up on my updating schedule so fast (even though I've already technically failed). Please keep me encouraged and show your support by reviewing and telling me what you think!**


	12. Chapter 12

It had been hours since Beast Boy's disappearance.

He had searched every nook and cranny for the young shapeshifter, scouring the entirety of the fairgrounds and even making several rounds across the city. Yet, there had been no indications of the changeling's whereabouts. He had simply vanished without a trace. The only clue he had was his discarded jacket that the green teen had worn just hours before.

He clutched the fabric in his hands, fondling it as if the reminiscence of the changeling still resided within it. He had come to the terms that the action he had made was just what Magic Man wanted; a counter-effect, so to speak. He was never meant to kiss the changeling, the green teen's reaction proved just that. Magic Man had baited him, and Robin had allowed himself to fall into his trap. Now Beast Boy was paying for his wrongful actions.

Biting his lip, the disheartened leader got up from the park bench and began to walk towards his parked motorcycle. He had contacted the remaining titans for an emergency meeting but did not go into any further detail. It was well into the night, and he knew that they were all woken out of their slumber. This would only make things all the more troublesome when he would have to explain himself. Could he even bring himself to say what he had done?

The drive back to the tower seemed like a millennium, and he did not want to fathom the reactions he would receive from his fellow teammates. They wouldn't take it well, he presumed. Before he knew it, he was standing outside of the common room doors. His breath was shallow, yet he could feel his heart quickening. No, of course, they would not take it well. Their teammate, their friend, had vanished seemingly from the face of this earth. There was not even a clue as of where he might be or how to find him. He was just...gone.

He cursed under his breath and brought the jacket up to his chest, holding it as if the sensation would ease his nerves. He knew that the sooner he explained what happened to Beast Boy, the sooner they could come up with a solution. His hand hovered above the scanner. Was he wrong to feel nervous about the oncoming conversation? He wanted to find his friend. He wanted to tell him how sorry he was for his rash decisions. He just didn't want to have everything crashing down so soon.

He shook his head, ridding himself of his doubts. Beast Boy was missing. He shouldn't be thinking of his own personal issues when his friend was undoubtedly in serious trouble. Putting his worries aside, he pressed his hand on the scanner. The common doors almost immediately opened.

The remaining Titans were gathered around the couch, talking quietly among themselves. He was sure Starfire was in the middle of a yawn when he had entered. However, once they heard the sounds of the door open, all heads turned towards their leader.

He cleared his throat and put on his fearless leader persona, trying to seem composed as his teammates gave him questioning looks. He briskly walked towards his group of friends but did not dare make eye contact with any of them.

"Robin?" Starfire questioned as said leader walked up to the podium. Robin ignored her query in opposition to shuffle some leftover paperwork on the space.

"Yo," Cyborg piped up."Where's BB?" There was a sort of laugh to his tone, but it did not mask the seriousness of his question. Robin winced but kept his head down.

"He's...he's uh…" Robin began nervously.

"I can't sense him," Raven announced, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "He's not in the tower."

"Robin, where's Beast Boy?" Cyborg asked again, his voice beginning to rise.

"He's-" Robin said, clenching his fist. The calm seems to quickly shatter as his teammates realize their green friend was missing, and soon a multitude of questions and accusations were being thrown at him at one time, causing his head to spin.

"This does not make any of the sense."

"Robin, say something."

"Where is Beast Boy?"

"Answer us!"

"What did you do to him?"

"He's gone!" Robin shouted, putting all the questions to a stop. He leaned over the stool and ran nervous fingers throughout his hair. "He was...he was there one moment and the next...gone." He spat out agitatedly.

"Well, what happen?" Cyborg yelled, standing onto his feet. "He can't just...y'all are glued together. How could he just disappear? You're not making sense."

"I.." Robin knew he should confess. He should explain everything in detail of what lead to his disappearance. However, the words refused to form. They became bubbled in his throat, and it felt as if he were choking on them. He finally looked up and opened his mouth as if to say something, but after seeing the concerned faces of his friends, he couldn't bare to. "I'm sorry."

Cyborg took a step closer to the podium, his face enraged. "Sorry's not gonna bring Beast Boy back."

"Cyborg, calm down." Raven hissed. Cyborg scowled at his leader but begrudgingly took a step back.

"The spell...it is broken?" Starfire asked, clasping her hands underneath her chin hopefully.

"I don't think so, Star," Robin replied. "He would be here if it was."

"So, what," Cyborg sneered. "He just disappeared? Without a reason?" Robin sighed and raked his hand through his hair again. Beastboy and Cyborg were best friends. The masked boy was sure he had heard them go as far as to call one another brothers on occasion. It was to be expected that Cyborg would be angered by his disappearance. Still, this did not make explaining any easier. "Something must have happened."

"We...we got into an argument," Robin confessed.

"Of course." Cyborg groaned, throwing his hands up. He rested his hands on his head and began pacing back of forth.

"It was my fault-"

"Oh, I know it was your fault." The cyborg laughed sarcastically.

"Friend Cyborg!" Starfire gasped.

"You couldn't even spend one day without arguing with him, could you?" Cyborg growled over the alien's exclaim, slamming his hands on the table and staring his masked leader down face to face. Robin felt himself cowering against his stare, despite his best efforts to keep his head held high. "Do you know how often he came to me about you? How he's never felt good enough to you?"

"Cyborg," Robin warned.

"Do you realize how much he looked up to you? How much he wanted to be like you?" Cyborg continued to taunt.

"Stop it."

"Do you know how much he wanted you to like him?"

"You don't know anything!" Robin screamed, causing everyone, including the half meta in front of him. "You don't know what we talk about or-or what we've done. You don't know what kind of relationship we've made how close we've become. Do you think I don't care? He's my friend too. I lo-" He stopped himself mid-sentence before he revealed too much.

He shut his eyes and clenched his fist before looking back up to meet the shocked and worried faces of his teammates. He sighed.

"Look," Robin said, trying his best to sound calm. "I'm just as worried as the rest of you. God, if I could go back in time and change what happened I would. But I can't. Our main priority right now is to find Beast Boy. Everything else can be dealt with later." Robin made sure to make direct eye contact with his half-robot counterpart, meaning it to be a warning. Cyborg merely rolled his eye and crossed his arms, but did not argue any further. "We'll set up a search party tonight."

"I agree that we need to find Beast Boy as soon as possible," Raven said, being the voice of wisdom. "but it's late and everyone's emotions are high. It's best to wait until morning to start searching."

Robin looked between each of his teammates. They each looked exhausted, and even he had to admit his energy had completely depleted from his hours of searching. But he didn't want to wait. He needed to know if the changeling was safe. He needed to somehow gain his forgiveness. He shook his head. "Do whatever you want. I'm going to look for him."

He gathered what little stability he had left and heatedly exited the room. The door swished closed behind him, and he stood with his back turned against the cool metal and his hands balled into fists. He hadn't realized how heavily he had been breathing, nor how much his body was shaking. He felt sick, like someone was repeatedly punching him in the guts and he had no way to squash it.

He could hear the muffled words from the remaining titans through the door. By their sound increasing volume, he could only imagine the panic that must have arisen concerning their missing friend after he had left. He knew that if Beast Boy were there he would reprimand him for storming off without giving a proper solution; or at least not trying to bring calm to the situation. Beast Boy always had a knack for pointing out the flaws in his leadership, even when he didn't want it. He wished he could have that commentary now.

He pressed his lips together as he felt them began to quiver. Oh, how he wished nothing more than to have the changeling's presence at his side again. He would live a thousand lifetimes strapped to his younger companion if it meant that he would be returned safely. Essentially, it felt as if a part of him were missing. Robin never before thought he could bring himself to formally admit it, but he felt that the changeling was his better half. The half he wanted to be. The half he wanted to love.

He shuddered at the memory of when he opened his eyes after he kissed Beast Boy. It was such a rash and foolish decision, fueled by canned emotions and a longing for an answer. True be it, the physical contact of their lips together felt like warm electricity coursing through his veins. He had not felt that way with anyone else before and the feelings of not knowing if his dream had meant something had vanquished. However, he saw the destain in green boy's eyes. He could clearly make out the confusion, the anger, the rejection, on the boy's face. It was a low blow, and he tried to quickly fix his mistake.

Robin raised his hand and covered his mouth, for he suddenly felt the onset of nausea wash over him. He had tried to reach out to the green teen, explain that what he had done was a mistake, but the changeling looked at him as if he were a completely different person. He'd looked to his leader with fear instead of the admiration that once oozed out of him almost obnoxiously. He cried to his leader to stay away from him, and once he got too close he pushed him away with all the energy he could muster. Oh what Robin would give to go back in time and take it all back.

He groggily stood up, bracing the wall for support. He felt the world start to sway beneath his feet, but he tried his best to stay upright. He decided that he would not rest until he found Beast Boy. It was his fault that he was missing, and Robin was going to make sure that he'd be the one to bring him back safely.

Wherever he was.

Robin quickly marched to his bedroom, but his last thought still lingered in his mind. There was no way of knowing where the changeling may be. The only clue left behind was his discarded jacket, but that was not nearly enough evidence to even draw a starting point. He could be anywhere in the world, or nowhere at all. What if he had warped into some alternate dimension? What if he was somehow transported right into Magic Man's hands. The thought left him lingering at his door, too warped inside his own mind to open it. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves.

He scanned his hand and entered the room. Immediately, he took a seat on the edge of his bed and burrowed his face into his hands. The only way to know for sure where Beast Boy might be was to find Magic Man. However, the team has had no such luck on being able to locate him. The trickster made his appearance when he wanted to, toyed with the heroes as if they were a game, and vanished without leaving a single trace. It was nearly impossible to track him. It was enough of a fact to make Robin feel hopeless.

"I'm sorry, Beast Boy," Robin whispered helplessly into the silence. "I'm so sorry."

There was a sudden, unforeseen weight added to his bed, causing the mattress to shift and creaked as a result. Robin looked up in surprise and felt his breath catch in his throat. Beast Boy, to his amazement, sat on the bed beside him, gripping the edge of the mattress with his hands and staring down at the ground. Robin couldn't quite tell if what he was seeing was real. It felt as if he were in some twisted dream; something even more demented than his nightmares. He blinked a couple of times, hoping that if this was some sort of vision and it would go away. However, the figure in front of him did not disappear.

"Beast Boy?" He questioned. His voice displayed just how confused he was. A part of him didn't want to believe it was actually him. It felt too good to be true.

Beast Boy shifted slightly, turning his head away from the bewildered leader. "Hey." He said curtly, just barely above a whisper.

Robin felt his mouth run dry. He sounded like Beast Boy. He never once thought that he could ever miss the sound of someone's voice, but right now Beast Boy's sounded like music to his ears. Unable to resist, he slowly reached out towards the boy. His brain still didn't want to believe he was actually here. It felt like he was a phantom, and he was only seeing and hearing what he wanted. However, as his fingers came into contact with the changeling's shoulder, his doubts vanished.

Beast Boy was here beside him. He was safe.

"Beast Boy!" He cried out in happiness. Without even thinking, he grabbed the silent green teen and pulled him into a tight embrace, earning a surprised gasp from the changeling. It was nothing simply short of a miracle, and Robin could not contain his excitement and relief. "Where were you? Are you okay? I was- we were so worried about you. How are you-"

Robin felt the boy shift inside his arms and immediately stopped rambling. Beast Boy gently pushed himself away from his leader, avoiding eye contact. Robin felt his heart ache by how uncomfortable his teammate looked. He took in a deep, shaky breath.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

Beast Boy bit his lips and wrapped his arms around himself. "'M fine." He mumbled. Robin cocked his head to the side at the lad's uneasiness. He wanted to move closer to the changeling, to touch the changeling and tell him everything would be okay, but resisted.

"I…" He had so many questions that he wanted to be answered. He had so many things that he wanted to apologize for. Yet, nothing seemed to be suitable for that moment in time. "You disappeared." He lamely stated

"Yeah," Beast Boy answered softly. "Yeah. I just needed to be alone for a while." Robin raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"We were all really worried. We thought Magic Man-"

"- I turned into an amoeba, Robin." Beast Boy stated sternly, cutting the masked boy off.

"You...you what?" Robin gasped, baffled.

It was quite a clever play on Beast Boy's part. He had less than a second to make a decision after he pushed his leader on the ground. He honestly had not meant to, but he reacted faster than he could think. He knew he couldn't face his leader after the stunt he had pulled, and especially after he had assaulted him. He had to disappear, try to make sense of everything that had just happened, had to be alone. And so he made the brazen decision to transform into an amoeba; an organism small enough for Robin not to notice him, and small enough that no one else in the tower could detect him.

"I needed time to myself." Beast Boy snapped back. It was amazing how fast one's emotions can change. Robin could feel anger start to boil within him, vastly contrasting the happiness he felt just mere seconds ago.

"I was searching for you all night!" Robin seethed between his teeth. He got onto his feet and stood in front of the changeling, who was still refusing to make eye contact. "We were about to set up a search party for you. We-we thought you had disappeared. Did it ever occur to give us a warning before you just decide to take time for yourself?"

"I'm sorry, I thought I had a valid reason for wanting to get away from you!" Beast Boy screamed, also shooting up to meet his leader face to face. Robin's eyes grew wide behind his mask, and he immediately regretted what he said. All the anger he had felt evaporated, and he was left with the memories of the night's earlier events and why he had been so worried in the first place. Beast Boy's words repeated over and over in his head. The changeling had _wanted_ to get away from him. He had made the decision to disappear because anywhere was better than having to face his bonded companion. The thought that Robin had been the cause of this sudden shift broke his heart even more.

Beast Boy was breathing heavily in front of him with his hands closed into tight fists. Realizing what he had said and seeing Robin's obviously hurt expression, Beast Boy felt his anger dissipated, and it was replaced with shame. He had not meant to say that out loud. He tried to piece together the reason for why Robin would have the sudden urge to kiss him, but nothing made sense. That frustrated him even more. He knew disappearing would cause an uproar, but he couldn't face Robin. Not then, not now.

His ears dropped, and looked away once again, folding his arms. "You didn't even ask me." He finished quietly

Robin felt that sinking feeling return to him, and he struggled to find the right thing to say. "Beast Boy...I-" He reached out a hand towards his teammate, only to stop once he saw him shy away and tightly shut his eyes. He slowly retracted his hand and held it to his chest. "Can we talk about this?"

"I just want to go to bed." Beast Boy answered with such a tone that Robin wouldn't dare argue with him. "I'll tell the others I'm back in the morning." Before the leader could say anything, Beast Boy began crawling on top of the bed, forcing him to follow.

They both settled onto the bed. Beast Boy immediately turned so that his back was facing Robin, and he did not make any notion that he would move from that position. Robin sat up staring at him for a few seconds. He felt like he should say something. He didn't want to leave off this night on such a bad note, but he also knew that Beast Boy had no intention to talk to him right now.

He sighed and settled into bed as well, deciding that giving Beast Boy his space would be the best decision for now. He faced the wall and stared at the blank surface. It felt as if the whole world had suddenly turned against him, and now he was alone. He assumed that it was because Beast Boy had somehow become his world without him realizing it, and now he hated him. It hurt more than any injury he had acquired during battle. If only he could take what he had done back.

He curled himself into a bawl, missing the warm embrace Beast Boy would hold him in every night. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. He could care less what happened to him in his nightmares; having Beast Boy hate him was a much scarier occurrence.

* * *

Beast Boy let out a giggle before taking another bite of his sandwich. "You guys should see your faces." He chuckled whilst his mouth was full.

"Bro, we thought something seriously bad happened to you!" Cyborg detested, folding his arms.

"Aw, you were worried about little 'ol me? I'm touched." The changeling placed his hands over his heart in mock sincerity. His bionic friend growled but ended up ruffling his hair anyways. He was just happy his best friend wasn't hurt.

"I still should've been able to sense you," Raven muttered, moreso to herself.

"Guess I finally found a way to outsmart you." Beast Boy grinned, playfully sticking out his tongue.

"But friend, what did you argue about that would've made you run away?" Starfire asked innocently.

The room suddenly went silent. Robin, who had had his head propped on his hand and had been trying to distract himself from the conversation by reading a newspaper, looked up and shot a concerning glance at the boy sitting beside him. Beast Boy's chewing had slowed significantly, and he swallowed his remaining food heavily. He looked down at his hands, fiddling with his fingers nervously.

"Let's not talk about that right now, okay Star?" He mumbled.

At Beast Boy's answer, Robin looked away. He had tried to talk to him when they first woken up, but Beast Boy had completely ignored him. He hasn't so much as looked at him this whole day, now that he thinks about it. It took everything within him to resist apologizing and questioning his actions. He wanted to confess in front of everyone that it was his fault the changeling had run away. Yet, he knew that would only stir up more trouble in the long run. He just didn't know how long he'd be able to hold everything in.

The other titans looked between their two bounded friends worriedly but decided it best not to ask any further questions. With Cyborg questioning Beast Boy's eating habits, the topic was quickly diverted.

Robin sighed and continued to mindlessly read his newspaper.

* * *

It felt as if months have gone by since Robin and Beast Boy have had a real conversation; in reality, it had only been three days. Still, the young leader was absolutely miserable. The guilt and shame had taken a toll on him, and if it weren't for Beast Boy's constant control of regulating whatever they did, Robin was sure he would be moping in bed all day, unable to move or find the motivation to do anything.

However, his melancholy did not seem to show any signs of washing off on Beast Boy. He was determined to not give Robin any time to talk with him alone. During the day, he made sure they stayed in the common room with the other titans. If there just so happened that no one else around, Beast Boy would immediately grab headphones and a video game or comic book and pretend Robin's presence was not there. At night, he would immediately fall asleep, or at least pretend to be, so that the other would not disturb him. His determination was quite admirable.

It had become increasingly difficult for the young leader to sleep. Besides not having Beast Boy's warm embrace to lull him into slumber, he had also stopped appearing in his nightmares. Every night, the shadow demon would capture and suffocate him, and instead of the changeling coming to his rescue, he was left in hands of the monster. If he wasn't staying up every night thinking of the changeling, his dreams certainly kept him in an insomniac state.

Robin looked up for a moment and met the back of Beast Boy's head. His hair was a bit more disheveled than usual, probably due to the fact that they didn't spend much time in the bathroom anymore. He was currently fiddling with his communicator, undoubtedly messaging Cyborg to meet them in the common room for a round of video games.

He had to talk to him.

Admittedly, the main reason for this was a bit selfish and avaricious. He so desperately wanted Beast Boy to forgive him for what he had done. He wanted him to understand that he regretted what he had done and that he truly did value their friendship. He needed him to know that he only kissed him as a result of Magic Man playing tricks on his mind, that he didn't really like him in the way he had thought.

He scrunched his face at his last thought. It felt unnatural to think such a thing like his mind was shaming him for even considering that he did not like Beast Boy in that sense. But it was true, he did not hold romantic feelings towards the changeling. It was all Magic Man's doing. He had plotted the dream in his head, played with the young leader's emotions, and pulled them apart because they had become so close. It had been his plan all along to put up a barrier between them, and Robin had fallen for it.

At least, that is what Robin hoped to be true.

A small part of him denied these allegations. There was a small voice in his head that was shouting above all the selfish reasonings for what he had done. That small voice would remind him of how beautiful he thought the changeling was. It would remind him that he was comfortable enough to open up about his past, something that only the dark knight himself knew. The voice would cite all the petty arguments they had during daylight, only to wound up into his arms for comfort in the night. That voice would bring back the sensation of when they had kissed and he could feel the electricity course through his veins. It would bring back the thought that at that moment in time, everything felt the way it should be. Although small and fighting for attention, the voice reminded him that he still held those feelings close to his heart, but had decided to chain and lock them in a box, casting it away to drown in a sea of denial.

His footing slowed until he came to a stop, causing the changeling to halt as well.

"We need to talk," Robin said sternly. "Please."

Beast Boy shifted uncomfortably in front of him and crossed his arms. They were standing in the middle of the hallway only a few yards from the common room door. Undoubtedly, the changeling was worried someone would hear them.

"Robin…" Beast Boy warned in a hushed tone.

"Please, I-" He looked down at the floor and clenched his hands into a fist, trying to keep himself from sounding too desperate. "...at least let me explain."

"I don't have anything to say to you." He responded.

"I know," He was becoming more and more desperate as his emotions were starting to take a toll on him. He was fully prepared to get on his knees and beg for forgiveness if that was what it took. He quickly maneuvered himself so that he was standing in front of the green lad. Beast Boy jumped at the sudden shift and stared at the caped crusader with bewilderment. "I know I don't deserve your forgiveness. What I did...you have every right to hate me."

"A-And I hate myself for what I did to you. I do. God, I never wanted to- I just...I was selfish and stupid and if I could take it all back I would." Robin gulped as he could feel his whole body shake from nerves. He took in a deep breath and met the still shocked changeling in the eyes. "But you at least deserve to know why I did it. After that, I'll stop bothering you. We'll do whatever you want. I swear."

Beast Boy eyed him wearily. It was obvious that he was trying to decipher his leader's motives, but after a few seconds his body relaxed and he looked away.

"Tonight." He mumbled. He looked at the boy in front of him for a split of a second before sighing and looking at the ground. "We'll talk tonight."

Robin felt a wave of relief wash over him. "Thank-" Before Robin could finish his statement Beast Boy pushed passed him and began walking the rest of the way to the common room. As Robin followed behind, he couldn't help but let out a small smile.

* * *

The time between day to night seemed like a blur. Before Robin knew it, he and Beast Boy were sitting side by side on his bed in complete silence, looking anywhere but each other. They had been in this state for well over ten minutes and neither knew what to do or say to start a conversation. There were a few times that Robin had opened his mouth to say something but ultimately decided that what he was going to say wasn't worth it. Beast Boy had also thought of asking a question but could not form one that wouldn't push his leader away.

Robin nervously bounced his leg and fiddled with his fingers. It felt so unnatural to feel as nervous as he was. He was usually cool, calm, and collected, but Beast Boy has proved time and time again that he could bring out the sensitive side of him without even trying. He took a glance at the changeling, praying that he wouldn't notice. The green teen was currently looking up at the ceiling. He was biting his lips and rubbing the nape of his neck. It looked as if he was deep in thought, or perhaps having an argument with himself. However, that thought process was broken once he felt curious eyes on him, and he slowly turned his head to meet his leader's eyes.

As soon as their eyes met, they both shied away and returned to looking in opposite directions. Robin pinched his eyes shut, ridiculing himself for getting caught. He took in a deep breath and willed up the courage to say what he'd been thinking.

"Beast Boy-"

"Robin I-" They both paused once they realized they had been talking over each other. They were now looking at each other face to face for they had both turned at the same time. A small blush began to form on the changeling's face as he leaned back tentatively. "Uh...you first."

"Ok," Robin said, clearing his throat. "I feel like I should apologize first."

"Yeah," Beast Boy agreed with a slight nod. "Yeah, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have run away like that. I shouldn't have pushed you."

"No, no. You had every right to do those things. I wasn't thinking clearly and I let my emotions get the best of me." Robin interjected quickly. He let out a deep breath, shaking his head. "I never wanted to hurt you."

"Then why did you do it?" The question didn't sound angry or upset, yet it left Robin feeling as if his stomach had plummeted out of his body. "I mean, I've tried to understand, but nothing made sense. I just...why would you kiss me?"

Robin felt himself freeze. He knew that he should tell the truth, that nothing ever good came from lying. Yet for some reason, the words would not leave his tongue. His pride wouldn't let him admit that he had fallen into Magic Man's trap. It was already hard enough to think it, but to say it out loud would acknowledge that he had been weak.

"Honestly," Robin said, looking down at his hands. "Do you remember when Raven made a joke about true love's kiss?"

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, I thought that that was exactly the kind of twisted thing Magic Man would want. I thought that it would be enough to break the spell." Robin shrugged. "I guess I was wrong."

"So it was only about breaking the curse to you?" Beast Boy asked after a moment's silence. His tone sounded doubtful, but Robin hoped he would take his petty excuse as the truth.

"Y-yeah," Robin said, with a slight nod. "I should've said something to you first. I was stupid." Beast Boy nodded as well and looked away. He clicked his tongue and let out a snort of laughter.

"It's funny." Beast Boy laughed, shaking his head. "I've always considered myself pretty good at reading people. Elastigirl always told me the eyes are the windows to the soul. But I can never read you." Robin looked up in shock, and Beast Boy met his gaze head-on. It was as if he were trying to look through his mask, and it made the young leader squirm like a worm freshly dug from the ground. "I don't know if I believe you."

At that moment, dear reader, it is safe to say that Robin knew he had blown any chances of Beast Boy forgiving him. He had seen right through his lie and there was no way he could come back from it. The young leader felt his breath get caught in his throat and he was struggling to find words to say. This was enough of a response for Beast Boy to draw a conclusion, and he nodded to himself.

"Thanks...for telling me." Beast Boy said with a small sad, smile. He stood up and cleared his throat. "Um...It's getting late. We should go to-"

"My mask!" Robin cried suddenly. "W-would you like to...take it off?" The question surprised both of them both. Robin just didn't want to have their conversation end so abruptly, especially on a sour note. Beast Boy stared at him with wide eyes at the sudden proposal, and struggled for a coherent answer.

"W-what? Dude, no. That's not what I-I can't." Beast Boy stammered. "I know what that mask means to you. It's fine, I wasn't being serious."

Robin shook his head. "I am." He hesitantly grabbed the hands of the boy sitting in front of him, looking down at them and holding them tight. "I trust you, Beast Boy." He began slowly. " I trust you more than anyone else in this world. I know I have the worst way of showing you that. And I want you to trust me too. " The words fell so effortlessly off his tongue, and he meant every word.

"Robin," Beast Boy said is a breathlessly. "Are you sure?" Instead of answering, Robin slowly brought his companions hands to either side of his face, placing them on his mask. He looked up at Beast Boy expectantly, whose face was a mixture of disbelief and curiosity.

It was a question everyone in the world wanted to know, but no one dared to ask. What exactly was Robin hiding behind that mask? Beast Boy had never thought that in his lifetime he would know the answer. But now here he was, both hands on either side of his leader's face trying to find the strength to pull the piece of cloth off of his face. It was an exhilarating feeling and he knew once the revelation was revealed there was no taking it back. It almost felt...wrong. The mask was a symbol of Robin's identity. It protected him, protected the ones he kept close to him. No one was supposed to know what was beneath it. But he trusted Beast Boy enough to reveal this secret side of him. It was a feeling the young shapeshifter couldn't quite explain.

His fingers tentatively gripped the edge of the mask and he lifted it ever so slightly. He paused, trying to see if Robin would have a sudden change of heart. But alas, Robin merely nodded, urging him to continue. Beast Boy gulped and returned his focus to the mask. He slowly began to peel more back, revealing dark eyebrows. His heart felt as if it was prepared to launch out of his chest at any moment. He kept pushing on, however, and it wasn't long until the mask was completely removed.

Beast Boy felt his breath hitch in his throat.

They were blue. Not hazel or even brown as how he had guessed. They were a crystal clear shade of blue the vastly contrasted his otherwise dark features. It almost seemed out of place for him to have those set of colors eyes. It felt as if Beast Boy was staring into a deep blue sea, and the more he stared into it, the more he could make out the various beings residing within it. He could make out the confidence laying on the seafloor, and determination swimming against it. Hope and perseverance danced like little guppies playing on a warm summer day. However, beneath all of that, there was a dark cavern that hid guilt and fear. It was almost scary how expressive his eyes were considering how little emotion he shows whenever he wore the mask.

Beast Boy took in a deep breath, recollecting himself. He brushed his thumbs beneath his eyes sockets gently, still staring into those mesmerizing eyes. His hands began to feel warmer, but that was probably due to his leader's reddening cheeks.

"Okay." Beast Boy said after exhaling. He shifted on his feet and nodded to himself as if trying to keep himself focused. "Tell me the truth. Why did you kiss me?"

The question caused Robin's eyes to widen slightly. The cave that was once small and dark began to grow, and Robin had to look away from the changeling's piercing green eyes. He knew he couldn't lie. Not with him feeling so exposed and vulnerable.

"I…" He muttered. He bit his lip nervously, feeling ashamed.

"Robin." Beast Boy urged, gaining his attention once again. "I won't judge you." Robin nodded slightly in his grasp.

"I had a dream...where we kissed." Robin slowly confessed. He stopped for a moment, waiting for Beast Boy to give some sort of reaction, but his expression did not change. He just patiently waited for him to finish his story. "And, I don't know, at first I thought it was Magic Man playing tricks on me but then I started thinking, what if it meant that I liked you. I mean, whenever I'm around you...I feel like I can be myself. I like being around you. And I know it's crazy, but I thought that If I kissed you I would know that my feelings were real." Robin sighed. "I'm sorry."

There were a few seconds where everything stood still and no one moved, and then Beast Boy dropped his hands and looked away. Robin looked away as well and twiddled his fingers nervously. He could feel his heart clench in his chest, and suddenly he wished they were back to not speaking. At least then Beast Boy wouldn't see how much of an idiot he had been. At least Beast Boy wouldn't have to look at him as some sort of monster.

"Did," Beast Boy suddenly spoke up softly. "Did it work?"

Robin lifted his head in confusion. "What?"

"Do you know?" Beast Boy asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He looked up and met his leader's curious gaze. "Do you know if you like me?" He pressed his lips together nervously and brushed back his hair. "Did it work?"

"I...don't know," Robin confessed, matching the soft tone of his teammate's voice. "I guess I never really had time to think about it after you...Beast Boy?" The changeling had been slowly making his way towards the blue-eyed boy while he was talking, and was now facing standing directly in front of him. Beast Boy placed his hands on either side of the elder's face and looked into his mesmerizing eyes. A bright, red blush laced his green skin as he stroked beneath his leader's cheeks.

"I…" Beast Boy whispered, slowly leaning forward. "I would also like to test that theory."

"Beast-" Before Robin could question what the green teen had meant, the gap between them was suddenly closed, and Beast Boy's lips lightly pressed against his own. Robin couldn't help the surprised gasp that escaped upon contact, nor the tingling sensation that began to grow inside of him.

The kiss was only but a few seconds longer than a peck, and after that time Beast Boy slowly pulled away. Robin watched as Beast Boy hesitantly opened his eyes. He bit his lip out of nervousness, waiting for some type of reaction from his unmasked leader. Robin was at lost for words, still not comprehending what exactly had just happened. Almost half a minute had passed and no words were said between them, making Beast Boy's nervousness transform into worry.

"I-I'm sorry." He muttered. He felt embarrassment and shame wash over him, and quickly tried to cover it up. "I shouldn't have done that. That was stupid of me. I-"

Robin grabbed the stuttering teen and pulled him back into another kiss. The force of the pull caused Beast Boy to topple onto the bed on top of the leader, causing a shriek of surprise. Still, this did not stop their lust for the continued sensation of their lips on top of the other. For so long, they never understood the reasoning for their constant arguing, perhaps they never would. But in this moment, none of what happened in the past mattered. Every miscommunication, petty disagreement, and unsaid thought, disappeared. The only thing that mattered was this moment in time.

With each passing second, the need to become closer grew evermore. Robin gently traced the curve of the boy's back, feeling each bone and muscle on his body. His hand slowly reached up to cup the green boy's face and deepen the kiss. Beast Boy ran his hand through Robin's dark strands of hair, loving the way it flowed like water between his fingertips. A moan escaped as Beast Boy parted his mouth slightly, allowing full access for the dark-haired boy to explore. They had been inseparable for so long, yet now they seemed closer than they ever had been before.

Robin suddenly flipped them over, causing Beast Boy to land on the pillow with a short laugh of surprise. Robin smiled as he leaned over him and kissed the young changelings forehead. Beast Boy giggled and placed his hands on either side of his face, staring up into his eyes. They were both breathing heavily and the longing to continue to make out weighed heavy on both of them. However, at that moment they both couldn't help but take everything in.

Beast Boy cracked a toothy grin and leaned upwards, pecking Robin on the lips once more.

"I like you." He whispered, biting his lower lip. He looked up to meet Robin's curious gaze and ran his hands down his neck and onto his shoulders. "I really do."

Robin let out a breath of relief and pressed his forehead against the changeling beneath him. "I like you too." He smiled against his skin and placed one last gentle kiss on his nose. "You complete me."

* * *

 **Ok, I know this chapter is waaay over due. I'm so sorry that it's been so long. College is really kicking my but, and I really did not have any time to work on anything except school work. I've been working on this in sections but it was taking longer than expected. It's still not a very good escuse but I hope this extra long and juicy chapters is enough to compensate. (Seriously this was like 20 pages).**

 **Thanks to everyone who's left comments and pm'd me with their concerns. Im definitely not giving up on this story. I'm determined to finish it. Next chapter will be more of beast Boy's point of view and the way he has been feeling. Kudos to those who guessed that he transformed to hide from Robin!**

 **ALSO I MADE A TUMBlR ACCOUNT!**

 **I wil be a lot more active on their and I also post my art. It's also a good place to keep updates on my progress of the story and to ask questions or requests. If you would like to follow my acount name is hey-its-lymaria.**

 **As always, please let me know what you think and thanks for reading!**


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